Battle of the Bands
by Anibelli
Summary: Percy, Jason, Leo, Frank, Grover, and Nico are in a band. Annabeth, Piper, Calypso, Hazel, Juniper, and Thalia are in a rival band. Both bands go to high school. Stuff happens. Percabeth, Jasper, Frazel, Groviper, Solangelo and Tratie. Disclaimer- never have never will. I deleted chapters 12-16, and 18-21. I saved them, but they wont be in the story anymore. I'm sorry. :D Review!
1. Chapter 1

Annabeth POV

I walked into Goode High School. Every one stared. My best friends Piper Mclean, Hazel Levesque, Juniper Bushe, Thalia Grace and Calypso Skytan **(Mix of SKY and tiTAN = SKYTAN)**, walked with me. My manager was making me come here. I hated it, but what she says, goes. Goode High School was a three floor building with

Piper is related to the Cherokee Indians. She has choppy cut braided hair. Her braids are usually braided with feathers. She has eyes that change color, like a kaleidoscope. She was wearing a purple and black snowboarding jacket, with skinny jeans and sneakers. She was the pretty one, but also the one who every one listens to.

Hazel was an African American girl with curly brown hair, like curls of cinnamon. Her eyes were golden. She was wearing a plain cream long sleeve tee shirt, a jean jacket, and jeans. She was the shy one, but you don't mess with her.

Juniper had her favorite Go Green; It Means the World shirt on, and jean shorts. She had auburn hair and hazel eyes. Her hair was straight down her back. Juni was nature freak.

Thalia had her favorite ripped jeans and Death to Barbie shirt on. Her black hair was spiked up as usual, and her eyes were her natural startling electric blue. She glared at anyone who looked at her wrong. The outgoing one.

Calypso had a red tee shirt and sweat pants on. Her long brown hair swayed mesmerizingly down her back Her almond shaped, brown eyes darted around nervously, like she expected to be attacked. I couldn't blame her. This was New York. We could get mugged at any time. She was the kind one.

I wore my favorite orange camp tee shirt, and jeans, along with my Yankees cap and beaded necklace. My curly blonde hair was in a ponytail on top of my head, and my grey eyes were analyzing everything. Me, I was the smart one. Sometimes the prankster, along with Piper and Thalia.

We are all in a band called The Muses. We were going undercover, for an education. I was thrilled to get one, but I hated high school. Fans were annoying. On stage we have fake names and colored contacts. Piper's name is Heather McQueen, and her contacts are brown. Hazel's is Kayla Ronoco, and her contacts are blue. Juniper's is Brooke Small and her contacts are a baby blue. Thalia's is Kaitlin Stark and her contacts are green. Calypso's is Arianna Rosa and her contacts are black. I am called Alexandra or 'Alex' DiMaggio and my contacts are brown. Before I go on, I must mention something. We are a very famous band, loved by all. But all famous bands must have a rival.

Our rival band is The Half-Bloods, or THB. They include of Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Grover Underwood, Nico DiAngelo, and, Percy Jackson. Gods how I HATE that boy. Always showing off and flirting with every pretty girl he sees. Jason is okay, because he is Thalia's younger brother, even though he looks older. Nico and Hazel were also siblings though it is very complicated. Frank was supposedly the kindest, and a sweetie. Grover was an old friend of mine, and Leo was just as bad as Jackson.

So, back to the present. We were walking to our lockers, which we found yesterday in out tour. We had requested our lockers next to each other's. We reached the 200s and open our lockers. I put all of my books in and turned around to come face to face to a buff, blond haired, blued eyed jock. The only part not alike was the scar that ran from the bottom of his eye to his jaw.

"Hi sweetheart, I'm Luke, and you are?" he asked seductively.

"I'm out of here," I said. He was cute, but I didn't have time for boys. He grabbed me around my waist and pulled me into him. I struggled to get out without hurting him. I could easily beat him up, but my manager said to be strictly nonviolent. This is why I didn't want to come.

"HEY, LET HER GO!" Thalia yelled.  
"No," he said simply. He leaned in. I could hear him breathing in my ear. He started to run his hand up my neck.

"HEY! STOP!" a males voice yelled from across the hall. We all looked up to see...

"JACKSON? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" I yelled angrily. He didn't notice me. He just glared at Luke. His little boy band was behind him. I finally wrestled out of his grip and stumbled forward.

"Don't touch her." Percy started forward, but Jason held him back. Luke sneered.

"What you gonna do pretty boy?" He jeered.

"Awe, Perce, he thinks that you're pretty." Leo said laughing. His friends joined him in laughing. Luke sneered once more. I thought he was going to leave, but he grabbed my wrist. I smirked. Bad move. I judo flipped him over my shoulder and heard his back hit the floor with a sickening crack. He groaned, but I knew it wasn't broken.

I picked up my books and walked straight up to Percy. I studied him. I never got to see him up close. He had messy black hair, and hypnotizing sea green eyes. He was wearing a blue V-neck tee with dark jeans. I smiled and got close to him, as if I was going to kiss him, then I punched him in the gut. He looked really surprised and he doubled over.

"I didn't need help!" I growled. I stormed off, Jackson following me. He wheezed.

I turned, my arms crossed. He leaned against a locker to catch his breath. I took this time to study the other boys.

Jason had blond, close cropped hair and sky blue eyes. Thalia was giving him a noogie. He had a purple tee shirt and jeans on. I noticed Piper taking wistful glances at him. She liked him, but we all knew so did his good friend, Reyna. She greeted Leo, who was like her little brother.

Leo looked like a Latino Santa's elf. He was short, with elfish features. He had short, curly brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing an orange long sleeve shirt and jeans. Calypso was reprimanding him for already causing trouble. They both liked each other but didn't know it. Caly waved to Frank.

Frank had a purple V-neck tee on and was looking quite flustered by Hazel, who was fussing over him. He was Chinese-Canadian, which is not a combination that you see every day. He had a military style hair cut that looked like an arrow. He had brown eyes and looked like a baby sumo wrestler. Frank was standing next to Grover.

Grover was currently hugging his girlfriend. He was dating Juniper. It was because of her that I met Percy the first time. We went to one of his concerts with her. He had curly brown hair, a small wispy beard growing, brown eyes, and a bad case of acne. He had some kind of leg disorder that made him walk funny. He wore a matching go green shirt with Juniper. Grover was keeping his distance from everyone, so he could have some time alone with Juni. He was closest to Nico.

Nico was being the usual Emo self and sulking in the corner, but not after saying hello to Hazel and Thalia. His eyes were black along with his shaggy hair, which contrasted with his olive skin. He was wearing a black skull tee shirt, a black aviators jacket, and black skinny jeans.

"I'm pretty sure you needed my help." He said, still gasping for air.

"Uh huh. Sure." I watched as Luke got up, and left. I couldn't help but notice that he looked a lot like a kid I had met when I was little. His name was Luke too. He even had the same scar. Oh wait. Shoot. I would talk to him later.

"Yeah, because if I hadn't distracted him, you wouldn't have been able to escape his grasp!" Percy retaliated. I rolled my eyes. I was going to tell him off, but the bell rang. We all went our separate ways.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry** **for the problem in the beginning, with the uploading problem, R AND R**

Annabeth'sPOV  


We were in Study hall. And by we, I mean Percy, Piper, Jason and I. Just then I got a text.

Hey. U awake. I sighed. Just Piper.

_yeah, but I gots to study!_ I typed back.

For what?

_The test next week._

Oh.

_Yeah, big OH!_

no, small oh, the test is next week.

_your infuriating Pipes!_

Ok, gtg Jason came over. I looked up and sure enough, Jason was right next to her. I sighed.

**Sup**. I got a text from... Percy?

_Sup?_

**Nutin just texting u.**

_i can see that idiot._

**sure u can Annie**.

_DONT CALL ME THAT U SEAWEED BRAIN!_

**Seaweed brain?**

_yea_.

**Ok then Wise Girl!**

_have fun making fun of me by calling me wise,㈳6_

"I will" breathed a voice on my neck. I spun around so fast I slapped him in the face.

"Seaweed Brain, are you okay?" I gasped.

"Fine." He grunted.

"Seaweed Brain?" Asked a voice. We spun around to see Piper and Jason peering at us.

"Yeah and her nickname is Wise Girl!" Percy said energetically.

Jason and Piper shared a look before bursting into laughter.

TIME LAPSE

"Hey Annabeth, do you want to have a sleep over at my house tomorrow?" Piper asked.

I only nodded. It was the end of 4th period. We were waiting for the bell so we could go to lunch.

Ring Ring.

We all piled out into the hallway. I went to my locker, and put my books away. I got out the books that I needed and raced down the hallway to lunch. But when I turned the corner I ran into...

"Katie? Katie Gardener?"

"Annabeth? Chase?"

I nodded and hugged her tight. She was my best friend when we were little. We talked for a few minutes and she asked if my friends and I wanted to sit at her table. I happily agreed. Katie had brown, ringlet-curly hair pulled into a high ponytail. Her eyes were a vibrant green. She was wearing cropped jeans, a green blouse and flip flops.

We walked together down the hallway in a comfortable silence. When we got to the lunch room, she lead me to her table. I saw all of my child hood friends there. I hugged then all. I saw Chris, Clarisse, Travis and Conner, Will and most importantly...

"MALCOM!" I screamed.

"ANNABETH!" He yelled mockingly. We both rose at the same time. He is my half brother. He is older, but I was mom's special chosen one. I ran to hug him. I moved my seat to next to him. My friends came over but I didn't notice. We talked until lunch was over.


	3. Chapter 3

**Percy pov**  
I stormed into the lunchroom. Everyone stared at me. A few fan girls squealed. I stomped to the table where my friends were sitting. I grabbed an apple from Jason's plate. Luke had decided to pick a fight, so I punched him in the face. Then a mob of fan girls had chased me into the gym, where I had escaped. They almost took my shirt with them. I looked around the room. I saw a bunch of jocks and popular girls, geeks, fan girls, and a group of normal looking people, plus The Muses with some kids. Annabeth was in deep conversation with a blond haired boy. I felt a hard fist clench around my chest, and I got even angrier.

"Guys I have an announcement to make." Jason said. We all looked at him expectantly. "We're going to Piper's house tomorrow for a party. The Muses will be there too." I sighed mentally. Yay, more time with our favorite rival band.  
"Hey Jase, don't get too serious tomorrow night with Piper, you guys just started dating." Leo smirked. We all laughed at Jason's stunned face. He started stammering that Piper wasn't his girlfriend, but we just told him that she wasn't yet. I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around. There was a group of good looking girls.  
"Hi." I said stupidly. Curse my seaweed brain.  
"Hi there Percy, my name is Drew, and I'm the most popular girl in school." She said, while examining her nails. "Care to introduce me to your good looking friend right there?" She said, putting her hand on Jason's shoulder. He removed her hand and said  
"Hi, I'm Jason and I've got a girlfriend." She snorted and asked who.  
**JASON POV**  
I led Drew to the table where Piper was talking to a red head girl. I grabbed Piper's hand and introduced her.  
"Drew, meet my girlfriend, Piper." Piper raised an eyebrow. I shot her a look. She got the message and went along with it.  
"This dumpster girl is your girlfriend? Puhlease, at least date someone with a little potential."  
Piper snorted.  
"Like who, you? You don't have enough potential to make a living as a toilet cleaner! And you thought you were going to take Jason away from me. Ha, as if!"  
"How about you prove that your Jason's girlfriend, hon? Why don't you do that. And if you can't, I will be happy to take him off your hands for you." She smiled evilly. Piper's eyes widened.  
"Ok then." I said and I smashed my lips onto hers. Her eyes widened even more but she soon melted into it. I barely heard Drew screech in frustration and stomp away, almost breaking her platform heels. I pulled away and heard everyone whooping and cheering for us. This will be a long day.


	4. Chapter 4

Annabeth's pov

I arrived at Piper's house. As an inspiring architect, I couldn't help but notice the beautiful structure of the house. I rang the doorbell and Piper appeared at the doorway.

"Hi, Annie! Come in. Your the first here... Oh wait there's the rest of the girls." I turned and saw the rest of our band heading up the driveway. I waved to them and stepped inside the huge mansion. Oh, Piper's dad's a really famous and rich movie star. The house literally has it's own movie theater. It holds 50 people. We went inside the living room and sat on the couch.

"So, what now?" Thalia asked

"We wait until the boys arrive." Hazel answered. I was currently zoning out about the architecture but stopped when she said that.

"What? The BOYS are coming? Why didn't you guys tell me?" I said flabbergasted. Piper blushed

"Oh, I didn't tell you? Yeah, I invited the boys over, we're going to have a battle of the bands. My dad, my uncle Apollo, and my mom are judging."

"Uh, Jackson's coming and you didn't tell me? Pipes, you know how we are big rivals, as leaders of the band!" I sighed.

"I'm sorry, but try to get along tonight, for us!" she pleaded. I nodded my head reluctantly.

Just then the doorbell rang. Calypso went and opened the door. Jason stepped in first and his mouth fell to the floor. The other boys came in and copied his movements. They stared at the 10000 dollar crystal chandelier. Leo ran his hand across the mahogany banister. Grover lightly touched the silk curtains. Frank studied the huge ceiling. Percy rubbed his hand on he couch.

Jason stared at the girl who lived here. She noticed and blushed. He walked up to her and said out loud "This is the most amazing house I have ever seen." She blushed again. He chuckled and took her hand. She dragged him to the couch. They sat there, but let their hands go.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat. "My parents and uncle will be here soon."

"Who's you're uncle?" Leo asked.

"Apollo Sunsic from Apollo Records." she answered. All of the boys mouths fell open. (Apollo Sunsic, Mix of sun and Music)

"Apollo as in The Apollo?" Frank asked. "Our music producer?"

I nodded. He was my (very distant) uncle too. He was Thalia's, Percy's, Nico's, and Jason's ( extremely distant) cousin and he was annoying. He was always hitting on the girls in my band besides Thalia and I.

"Soooooooo do you guys have any food?" Leo asked randomly. Calypso walked over to him and flicked him in the forehead, while all of the other guys agreed to Leo's statement. Calypso reprimanded Leo very loudly.

"... Cant believe you are so childish and foolish to ask such a dumb question..." while Piper lead them all to the fridge.

As Percy followed her, he called out, "don't miss me too much Wise Girl!" I responded back,

"Don't count on it Seaweed brain." The girls stared at me.

"Seaweed Brain? Wise Girl?" Hazel said, giggling. I blushed as Juniper facepalmed and said sadly,

" She is completely gone"


	5. Chapter 5

Hazel's POV

While we were waiting for the judges to arrive, we played Just Dance 2014. It was so much fun. Frank and I were the next pair up. He came up to me, tripped, got up blushing and asked what song I wanted to do. I chose Get Lucky. It was really hard but a whole lot of fun. I turned around after the song, only to find Annabeth screaming at Percy.

"PERSEUS JACKSON!" Percy flinched, but regained his look. He stared down at her. I had just noticed that her necklace was missing. It was a beaded leather rope with her father's collage ring in the middle.

"Yes?" he asked stupidly.

"GIVE IT BACK RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR TO THE GODS I WILL RIP OUT YOUR TOUNGE AND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR THROAT!" she screamed, her face getting redder.

"Uh, how about... no." he picked her up over his shoulder. she had been trained to flip over people when they pick her up like that, but apparently she forgot and started to yell at him more. He ran around the house a few times before she shrieked for him to put her down this instant. He responded with a simple "Okay." and put her in a laying position on the couch. He started to tickle her, but she grabbed his wrists and spun his entire body and let go. He landed on the floor with an "omphh" and groaned. She reached into his shirt pocket and tried to get her necklace out but he grabbed her wrists and pulled her body on his. He wrapped his arms around her waist so she couldn't escape. She threw her body weight to the left and they rolled down the hall, toward the living room. As they were rolling, Annabeth untangled herself from him and they ended up with Annabeth on top, her hands pinning him down by his shoulders, and her knees on his shins. They were both panting, and annabeth said to him while getting up,

"Just remember Jackson... My mother was named after the goddess of wisdom and battle strategies for a reason, and do you know what that means? I always win." She walked away, the girls following her. The boys looked at him with respect.

"Well man, you picked a strong warrior to fall in love with." Nico said impressed. I sighed and went away hearing Percy grumble about how he is not even close to in love with her, much less liking her at all.

*******************TYSON WILL COME SOON*********************

Calypso POV

Annabeth stormed outside to the gigantic olympic swimming sized pool. I was feeling really bad for her, I mean, I knew what it was like, dealing with Leo, he is always retaliating and giving me bolts for some odd reason. She took off her clothes to reveal a grey tankini top and green and blue girls swimming shorts. She dove in and sat at the bottom of the pool. We joined her in our bathing suits.

Hazel had a gold and purple one piece, that brought out her eyes. Juniper had a forest green bikini. Thalia had on her original black and electric blue one piece. Piper had pink bikini with random color accents (blue, green, brown, etc.) and a lot of ruffles. Her bottom was a skirt. Mine was a white tankini with outline of red. We all jumped in with her.

We swam to the opposite side of the pool as all of the boys jumped in. We passed a huge volleyball net, and His Most Disrespected Lowness yelled out to me

"Hey Skytan, how 'bout a game girls against boys. Boys win, which they will, you kiss me, 'kay?" Leo yelled to me. I turned, a fake but evil smile on my face.

"Sure Valdez, and if we win, your my slave for a week! Deal?" I said smirking. He swam over and shook my hand, not before spitting on it. I kicked him. My team huddled together as Annie set out our game plan. We played hard. The score was...

"20-20?" I asked "A tie!" I swore loudly. But that meant that Valdez was my slave for a week. Insert evil smile here. We all, tired, and cold, went in and dried off. the door rang, and Piper went to get it. She came back with 3 people, and we all sat up a little straighter. The Judges had arrived


	6. Chapter 6

Tyson POV

I followed Mr. Mclean into his house, hiding behind his legs. I was Percy's little brother, but my daddy was named Paul, not Po- si- den. I was tall for my age but not very tall. I haven't seen Percy for 3 years and I am 6 now. So that means the last time I saw him was when I was uh... umm... 4, no,3. Mr Mclean rang the bell and a pretty girl was there. Mr Mclean gave her a hug and kissed her forehead. I followed the pretty girl inside to see a lot of wet boys and girls. I saw my brothers best friends and the rest of his band. The girl introduced her daddy and mommy and Apollo. Then she saw me and looked scared.

"Dad there is a small child behind you!" she gasped

"Oh for you that don't know him, this is Tyson Blofis." At this, Percy gasped.

"Tyson!" I ran to him and he scooped me up. He squeezed me tight. He put me down and ruffled my hair. I looked at the blonde girl from earlier.

"Percy, that girl looks a lot like the girl you were always talking about, Annabeff Chasth!" I said loudly. Percy blushed and everyone else laughed.

"Well little tyke, that is her." he whispered to me.

"OHHHHHH!" I said. I turned to her and whispered loudly," He likes you! His room has pictures of you on his wall." She blushed and looked away as the other girls giggled.

"Are they still there, I thought I took them down after I met her." he glared at her and she glared back. I toddled up to her and poked her hair. "You are pretty!" I said happily. She giggled and ruffled my hair. "And so are you, and you, and you, and you, and you!" I said pointing to all the girls in the room. The adults had gone upstairs 10 minutes ago, and there was another girl standing in the door way. "And your pretty too!" Every one looked at who I was pointing to. She had long, braided dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, a purple shirt that matched Jason's and a pair of designer jeans.

"Reyna, what are you doing here?" Jason asked amazed.

"Yes, Reyna, what are you doing in my house?" asked a fuming pretty brown haired girl.

"Well I'm not here to see you Mclean, I'm here to see Jasey." she walked over to him and put her hands on his chest. She started to move them down to his waist when he pulled her hands off him.

"Is there a reason you are here?" he asked quietly.

"Well I need to talk to you, privately, so show me where to go." she purred.

Jason POV

I lead her into a bedroom upstairs where she locked the door behind us. She turned around and pushed me onto the bed. she climbed on top of me in a startling position. She stratled me and pushed down on my chest with her hands. I was stuck.

"Do you like me as a friend?" Yes.

"Do you want to be more than friends, and if yes, would you go all the way with me tonight?" wait, WHAT?

"Come on Jase, give me love, make me feel it." She leaned down and kissed me hard. I felt my shirt sliding off as the door opened and Piper and Annabeth were looking through the door. I pulled her off me, and saw her face. She had planned this. She wanted to have Piper see that. I pushed her off of me and slid my shirt back on. I swore at Reyna. Piper looked mad.

"Im sorry were you in the middle of something, because Im leaving now." she stormed out, and Annabeth looked at me, bobby pin in her hand, and punched me in the face. I felt my nose break and I yelled out in pain.

"How could you Jason, she loved you, and you ruined it." she slid down the banister and I heard her explain the story to the others. Reyna had gone. I laid down on the bed, and yelled in frustration. Why do girls have to be so complicated, like my love life?


	7. Chapter 7

Leo POV

When Piper came down with tears in her eyes, I immediately rushed over to her.

"Piper, what's wrong... what happened?" I asked pretending to fuss over her in hopes to make her laugh. She smiled slightly before saying,

"How about you ask your friend Jason." she stormed out of the room and into the basement, Hazel and Juniper right behind her. Then Annabeth came down furious.

"What happened?" I asked desperately. She answered back with a glare before saying,

"We found them passionately making out, on the bed, and Jason's shirt was off, not to mention she was rubbing her hands all over him." My mouth dropped open. She followed the girls into the basement, not before glaring at Percy, who scowled back. Then Reyna came down and left, right before Jason came down gingerly holding his nose up high with his right hand.

"DUDE, What happened now? I asked. He responded, his voice slightly off,

"Ammabeff bwoke my gose." he said. I nodded grimly. I called down to Piper,

"Hey Pipes, are there any first aid supplies? Jason's nose is broken." i waited until they were done deciding something and Annabeth came up the stairs. She glared at Jason, and walked toward the kitchen, and we followed her. as we passed the living room, I had a lot of "Dude, what happened?" and "OMG are you okay?" 's. I told them what happened and Annabeth snorted as she rummaged through the cabinets.

"What?" I asked.

"Jason, you were kissing her back, that is why I punched you." she said in her matter of fact tone.

"WHAT?" Percy yelled as Jason complained that

"I didnt kiss her back!" Annabeth ignored Percy's outburst and said to Jason

"Your lips said otherwise." Jason blushed but still complained that he didn't kiss her back.

"YOUR THE ONE THAT DID THIS?" Percy yelled, pointing to Jason's nose.

"HE'S OUR BACKUP SINGER! HOW ARE WE GOING TO COMPETE?"

"How about you have Nico sing?" Hazel said from the doorway to the basement. Nico's eyes widened and he protested that he can't sing, but Hazel took over the conversation.

"He is really amazing! He used to sing me to bed when I was little." Thalia giggled. Nico blushed.

"Fine, i'll sing, but who will play drums?" he sighed. Jason raised his hand. Nico nodded, apparently satisfied. Annabeth started to bandage Jason's nose up and muttered about how hard it is to bandage her work.

"Is Piper mad?" Jason asked desperately. Annabeth smirked,

"Oh she is furious." I laughed

"Nice one Jase, she probably loves you now." He scowled at me. Piper appeared at the doorway, looking at everyone except Jason.

"Hey guys, we have five minutes until we preform, so we all have to get ready. Battle of the Bands is on in 5.


	8. Chapter 8

I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE SONGS!

Calypso POV

We were in the theater room which is practically a small theater with a stage instead of a movie screen. As we were getting ready, Leo called out to me, "Skytan, where's that kiss that you promised you'd give me, eh?" I groaned, hoping he had forgotten about it. I walked over to him, and kissed his cheek. He pouted as I smirked. "Cheater. You broke your promise."

"Fine, here." I pecked his mouth lightly, and he shook his head and kissed me. My eyes widened. He was a good kisser. I surprised him by kissing back. I heard a boy wolf whistle and was snapped back into reality. We pulled apart at the same moment. We walked away blushing. ******************************************************************************************

The judges were lined up like in American Idol. The boys were going first. Leo winked at me from Keyboard. I rolled my eyes playfully. Frank was electric bass, Jason was on drums, and Nico replaced Jason on electric guitar. Grover was the other backup singer, even though he rapped most of the time. Percy was lead singer, but once in a while he played guitar with Jason. They started their song.

(Fall Out Boy: My songs Know what you did in the Dark)

ALL:Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa. Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.

Percy: B-B-B-Be careful making wishes in the dark, dark

Can't be sure when they've hit their mark

And besides in the mean, mean time I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart

Nico: I'm in the de-details with the devil

So now the world can never get me on my level

I just gotta get you off the cage

I'm a young lover's rage Gonna need a spark to ignite

Nico And Percy: My songs know what you did in the dark

Nico, Grover, Percy: So light 'em up, up, up

Light 'em up, up, up

Light 'em up, up, up

I'm on fire

So light 'em up, up, up

Light 'em up, up, up

Light 'em up, up, up

I'm on fire

ALL: Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa. Grover: In the dark, dark

ALL: Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa. Grover: In the dark, dark

Nico: All the writers keep writing what they write write

Somewhere another pretty vein just dies

I've got the scars from tomorrow and I wish you could see

That you're the antidote to everything except for me, me

Percy: A constellation of tears on your lashes

Burn everything you love, then burn the ashes

In the end everything collides

My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

Grover, Percy, Nico: My songs know what you did in the dark

So light 'em up, up, up

Light 'em up, up, up

Light 'em up, up, up

I'm on fire

So light 'em up, up, up

Light 'em up, up, up

Light 'em up, up, up

I'm on fire

ALL: Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.

Nico:In the dark, dark

ALL: Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.

Nico: In the dark, dark

Percy: My songs know what you did in the dark Jason/Grover: (My songs know what you did in the dark)

ALL THREE: So light 'em up, up, up

Light 'em up, up, up

Light 'em up, up, up

I'm on fire

So light 'em up, up, up

Light 'em up, up, up

Light 'em up, up, up

I'm on fire

ALL:Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.

Percy: In the dark, dark

ALL: Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.

Percy: In the dark, dark

Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa


	9. Chapter 9

Frank POV

The judges clapped and so did the girls, who were in the audience. I saw Calypso shake Annabeth's arm, and she reluctantly started to clap. I checked my watch. 10:26. By the time the girls would be done, it would be 11. We waited as they took their scores.

Mr Mclean: 8

Aphrodite Mclean: 7

Apollo: 10

TOTAL: 25 out of 30

"HA, BEAT THAT ANNABETH!" Percy yelled. Annabeth smirked.

"WAIT!" said a voice from the entrance. Thalia gasped.

"Is that...?" she trailed off. A woman with auburn hair burst through the entrance. Her eyes were a startling silver. All of the girls gasped.

"ARTEMIS!" they screamed and ran to hug her. Percy sunk to his knees and silently screaming, NOOOOOOOOO!

Artemis favored the girls a lot. She also hated guys.

"Art, what are you doing here?" asked her brother, Apollo.

"I'm here to judge, aren't I?" she said smiling at the girls. "Thalia, show me the video please." Thalia took out her camera and show the performance to Artemis. She nodded and gave the guys a round of applause

Artemis: 8

NEW TOTAL: 33/40

"WHAT!?" the guys screamed as the girls laughed. Artemis pulled up a seat next to Apollo. As the girls were getting ready, Hazel waved to me. I waved back, blushing slightly.

The girls were finally ready. Thalia was Electric bass, but she also rapped. Piper was lead guitar, and Juniper played keyboard. Calypso played drums, and Annabeth was singer, once in a while she played guitar or keyboard. Hazel was the other backup singer, along with Piper.

(Ariana Grande: Problem, FEAT IGGY)

Thalia: Uh huh!

It's Iggy Iggs!

I got one more problem with you girl

One less one less!

Problem

Annabeth: Hey baby even though I hate ya!

I wanna love ya

Annie/ Hazel: I want you!

Annie: And even though I can't forgive you

I really want ta

Annie/Hazel: I want you!

Piper: Tell me, tell me baby

Why can't you leave me?

Cause even though I shouldn't want it

I gotta have it

Hazel/Piper: I want you!

Annabeth: Head in the clouds

Got no weight on my shoulders

I should be wiser

And realize that I've got

Piper: One less problem without ya!

I got!

One less problem without ya!

I got!

One less problem without ya!

Annabeth: I got one less, one less problem

Hazel: One less problem without ya

I got!

One less problem without ya!

I got!

One less problem without ya!

Annie: I got one less, one less problem

Annie: I know you're never gonna wake up

I gotta give up

But it's you!

I know I shouldn't ever call back

Or let you come back

But it's you!

Every time you touch me

And say you love me

I get a little bit breathless

I shouldn't want it

But it's you!

Head in the clouds

Got no weight on my shoulders

I should be wiser

And realize that I've got

Piper: One less problem without ya!

I got!

One less problem without ya!

I got!

One less problem without ya!

Annie:I got one less, one less problem

Hazel: One less problem without ya

I got!

One less problem without ya!

I got!

One less problem without ya!

Annabeth: I got one less, one less problem

Thalia: It's Iggy Iggs!

Uh!

What you got?

Smart money bettin'

I'll be better off without you

In no time

I'll be forgettin' all about you

You saying that you know

But I really really doubt you

Understand my life is easy

When I ain't around you

Iggy Iggy

To biggie to be here stressin'

I'm thinkin' I love the thought of you

More than I love your presence

And the best thing now

Is probably for you to exit

I let you go

Let you back

I finally learned my lesson!

No half-stepping

Either you want it or you just playin'

I'm listening to you knowin'

I can't believe what you're sayin'

There's a million you's baby boo

So don't be dumb

I got 99 problems

But you won't be one

Like what!

Annie: One less, one less problem

One less, one less problem

Head in the clouds

Got no weight on my shoulders

I should be wiser

And realize that I've got (I've got)

Piper: One less problem without ya!

I got!

One less problem without ya!

I got!

One less problem without ya!

Annie: I got one less, one less problem

Hazel: One less problem without ya

I got!

One less problem without ya!

I got!

One less problem without ya!

Annie:I got one less, one less problem

Piper: One less problem without ya

I got!

One less problem without ya!

I got!

One less problem without ya!

Annie: I got one less, one less problem


	10. Chapter 10

Annabeth POV

The Judges clapped like crazy, while the boys hollared and wolf whistled. The girls had been dancing, and I think some of the girls had blown kisses to the guys. What every it was, they went for it. Even Percy was clapping, pretty enthusiastically. I winked at him, and he looked pretty confused. I heard Leo say to him that he had hooked me. Percy smirked and I glared at him and Leo. Leo flinched and percy looked even more confused that before.

Mr. Mclean: 9

Aphrodite: 9

Apollo: 6

Artemis: 10

TOTAL: 34

"WE WON!" we all screamed. I walked over to Percy. I held my hand out to him and said

"Hand it over Seaweed brain." He looked surprised and handed me my necklace. As I struggled to put it on, he asked

"How'd you know that I took it?"

"You really aren't that sneaky Perce. You took it while I was getting my microphone set up on stage." I told him, still struggling to put on my necklace.

"Here," he said, surprising me."let me help you." he clipped the necklace on and spun me around. He dipped me in a dancing move, and we both realized how awkward it was. he put me upright.

"Wise girl, you are too smart for your own good." he smiled at me.

"I know Seaweed brain. I know."

When we were leaving the theater, Calypso demanded to be given a piggy back by her slave. He pretended to be a horse and galloped up the stairs. We all laughed and followed him up. Mr. Mclean told us that it was time to get ready for bed. We all got changed.

I groaned when I realized I had brought my low cut tank top and short shorts to the sleepover, not realizing the boys were coming. I came out and realized all of the girls were wearing about the same thing. My tank was grey and my shorts were blue and green, like my bathing suit. The girls had the same color pj's as their bathing suits. Then the boys came out.

The only problem: Leo, Grover and Frank were the only one with shirts on. Nico, Jason, and PERCY FLIPPING JACKSON were shirtless. I swore mentally.

"Just so you guys know, I would like to stay virgin." I stated. The other girls agreed. The boys all grinned at each other, and Percy bounded forward, grabbing my waist and pulling me in close.

"I can fix that feeling." he said hoarsely. It was at that moment that I noticed his fully grown six-pack and bulging biceps. He could easily harm me, so I kneed him in the nuts. He groaned, and I kicked his chest. he was sent flying backward.

"Touch me, and I swear to you, you will never see daylight again." I growled. I stormed out of the room. I heard Percy calling my name, along with Piper. I heard Thalia and Calypso screaming at him. I also heard more groaning. On my way down stairs, I met Reyna.

"What are you doing here, Reyna?" I growled. She looked really scared and she was panting.

"Hide me, Quickly!" she said urgently.

"What are you talki-" I was cut off by an Explosion

BOOM

Reyna and I were thrown backwards into a bedroom, through the wall, I might add. My head pounded and I looked over to Reyna. She was unconscious. Percy rushed into the room, followed closely by the others.

"Oh Gods..." Someone said. Behind them, a shadowy figure loomed.

"Behind you!" I yelled. They turned around. Big Mistake. He released a gas, that when it touched them, they immediately collapsed.

"What did you do to them?" I demanded.

"Oh, nothing harmless, I just put them in a deep, deep, sleep." His voice was familiar. But as soon as he said those words, I passed out.


	11. Chapter 11

Katie's POV

I was lying on my bed playing with the plants in my room. My rose vine was playing with my hair, when I got a text from Mr. Prankster himself.

**Hey Katie-cat!**

I sighed and texted him back

_What do you want Stoll?_

**Just wondering what my favorite girl was doing**

_Stoll I'm warning you! _

**Fine, I was actually wondering if you had heard from Annabeth lately? She is not answering any of my texts or calls**

_Ummm… no actually, I haven't? Do you think something is wrong?_

**Probably nothing. Hey, do you want to go to the movies? Later today?**

I blushed and responded,

_Like a date?_

**Not if you don't want it to be one. We can call it a… friendly outing. How's 3 at the 24-hour Flicks, near Times Square?**

_Sure, sounds perfect._

**See you there, sunshine.**

_Bye Travis._

At precisely 3:25 Travis arrived at my place.

"Travis. Your late." He grinned.

"No Kaitlin, I'm fashionably late." He winked as I sighed and got in the car.

{AT THE MOVIE'S}  
"Soooo, which movie are we gonna see?" Travis asked me once we walked inside. I glared at him.

"Travis!" I scolded.

"Yes, Kay-tay?" he asked mockingly.

"I thought you had already picked the movieTravis! That is what your supposed to do!" I looked over at Travis and saw that he was mouthing every word I had said. I scowled at him, and he just grinned.

"Hmmmm, how about…" he mussed, looking at all the different movies.  
"That one." I said, pointing to a movie called Earth to Echo. I had seen the trailers and it seemed really cute. Travis grinned once more, saying cheerfully

"Whatever the lady wants!" I blushed and he smirked, putting his arm around my shoulder. I raised an eyebrow at the gesture, but shrugged it off, hypothetically, If I had done it physically then I would have shrugged of his arm and it would have been very awkward for both of us and… Oh sorry, ADHD. We bought tickets and got snacks to last a lifetime. We headed into the theater. We found open seats at the very top. The place where teenage girls and couples go when they don't want to be disturbed. As I sat down, I shivered, and cursed myself for not bringing a coat.  
"Here, take this." Stoll said as he put his coat around my shoulders. I felt the heat from my cheeks warm me up almost as much as the coat. When he wasn't looking, I sniffed the coat. It smelled exactly like him. Like cologne and mail. Probably because he spends so much time, in his father's national mailroom. I smelled something new though, like, plants. My eyes widened.  
"Travis…" I asked cautiously.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Have you been gardening lately?" His eyes widened.

"Umm, maybe a little." He smiled sheepishly. I smirked.

"Why have you been gardening, Travis? Hmm?" I asked quietly, getting closer to him. He did the same.  
"Maybe to get closer to a certain daughter of Demeter." My mother owned all the farms and plants shops in the world. Maybe you've heard of her. Demeter Ceres? No? Okay. Back to the present. We were leaning in closer, when a little girl shrieked.

"IT'S STARTING!" Her mother told her to shush, but the yelling had also snapped us back into reality. We both blushed like crazy. The girl was right though. The movie was starting. I'm not going to give you the details of the movie, so I don't spoil it for you, but it was very good. It was very sweet. Echo was adorable. And Emma and Alex made a cute couple.

But no more spoilers.

There was one problem. In the first 5 minutes of the movie, a group of girls came into the room. They sat near us, and I saw their faces. They were the triplets. The three most annoying, bratty, whiny, flirty, spoiled girls you will ever meet. The most popular sisters in school, and the prettiest one, Haylie, **Always** flirted with Travis and Conner. Always. The other two sisters are Hannah and Taylor. Haylie was tall, blonde, blue eyed, and very rude. Taylor was the most kind to me. She was the tallest, with brown hair, and brown eyes. Hannah looked a lot like Taylor, but was shorter, like 5ft 4 not 5ft 7 or 8. Haylie and Taylor always had there hair perfectly straight. It was like water cascading down their backs. Hannah obviously couldn't decide if she liked her hair straight or curled, because she was always alternating between the two. They were actually really pretty, but were always picking on me. Haylie was really jealous of me because Travis was a good friend of mine. And that is when things started to go downhill.

"Hey Travis." Haylie greeted him, openly flirting. She ran her finger down his arm. He looked at her finger, at her face, pulled his arm away, and focused on the movie.

"Hey, now can I please watch the movie. That IS the reason I came here with Katie." She glared at me, then decided that since we were such good buddies, that she would join us. She sat next to Travis, with her posy on the other side of me. She kept whispering in Travis' ear, and he looked really annoyed. Taylor and Hannah, focused on the movie. When the movie ended, Haylie stood up, slipped Travis a piece of paper, making sure that I noticed, and whispered in his ear once more. He looked really uncomfortable. Hannah and Taylor followed Haylie on the way out. Taylor shot me an apologetic glance. Haylie sashayed her hips all the way out. I caught Travis' eyes and we bust out laughing. We exited the theater and he drove me home.

He parked in my driveway. His red pickup truck rumbled with power. Before I got out, I looked him in the eye.

"I had a lot of fun tonight." I said quietly.

"Yeah," he gulped, seeing that I was leaning closer. "so did I. Even though some {beeps} came and were openly flirting with me. It was an awesome movie."

"Uh huh. The movie was pretty great." I closed the gap between us. His lips were soft, and he tasted salty. Probably from the popcorn. I will save you he torture and say that we made out for about 5 minutes. He kissed me goodnight, and I got out. I went to my room grinning, because I still had his jacket. And probably because I had just kissed Travis Stoll.


	12. Chapter 12

I'M BACK!

50,000 VIEWS! THIS IS A CELEBRATION CHAPTER!

THANK YOU FOR THOSE VIEWS AND REVIEWS! THEY MADE MY DAY EVERY TIME I GOT ONE! PLEASE BRING ON THE REVIEWS!

NEW ONESHOT! PERCABETH! CALLED The Mall!

Annabeth POV

I was searching for any sign of life. I saw none.

"Do you guys see anything?" I yelled to them. I heard a chorus of no's back. I swore angrily. She helps me and the team escape, helps me be happy, then pretty much commits suicide. Ani is insane.

My vision was getting dark. The scene faded completely, and I opened my eyes. I saw everyone from the sleepover crowded around me. Their eyes were filled with worry. When they saw my eyes open, the all broke out into grins.

"Annie!"

"Annabeth! You're awake!"

"You're not dead!"

"What happened?" They all exchanged glances. I sat up, and realized that I was in Piper's bedroom. None of them looked like they did in the Underworld.

"After you stormed out of the room, we came out to see you unconscious on the ground. We have been waiting for you to wake up." Piper piped up. **(LOL) **I put my head in my hands.

"What do you mean? The explosion, Reyna, the new kids, our powers? Was that a dream?" I asked desperately.

"What are you talking about? It must have been a dream." Hazel said. The rest of the group nodded. I groaned.

"That was the most vivid dream I have ever had." I exclaimed.

"We'll now that you're awake, we should sleep." I sighed, but nodded. We all got out our sleeping supplies. Percy came up to me while we were. He looked really nervous.

"Hey."

"Hey."  
"I wanted to apologize, for what happened before you collapsed. That was really uncalled for." I raised my eyebrows. Percy Jackson apologizing? That cannot be happening.

"I forgive you, I just…"  
"Yeah…"

We stood there in silence for a few seconds. I didn't notice that he didn't have his shirt on, and I definitely didn't notice that he had really nice abs. Like, really nice**. (THIS WAS FOR YOU, KRISTEN GREEN!)**

"Well, I should probably get…"

"Yeah, I'll let you do that."

He walked away. I sighed again. I can't believe that I came to terms with the fact that Percy Jackson is hot. I hate my subconscious. I laid down on my sleeping bag, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I awoke, only to find a screaming match taking place above me.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?"  
"ME? WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME? HAVE YOU LOOKED IN THE MIRROR LATELY?"

I sat up, groaning.

"Shut up!" I yelled to the people above me. Of course they are fighting.

"Leo, Caly, what the heck are you two on about now?" I asked.

"IT'S HIS/HER FAULT!" They both yelled. I rubbed my eyes.

"What happened?"  
They both started to rant at the same time. I looked at Grover for an explanation.

"They both bumped into each other, spilling water all over themselves. Now they blame each other." I rolled my eyes.  
"Will you guys shut it? Just apologize and get over it." They grumbled apologies, and turned opposite ways, stalking off. Grover helped me up.

"So, what's planed for today?"  
"Apollo and Artemis want you and Perce to start writing new songs. They also want a duet." My mouth fell open.

"A what?"  
"You heard me. They want you to get started right away."  
"Great. More time with my favorite person." I grumbled. I grabbed my clothes, and went into the bathroom. I put on jeans, a tee shirt that said… Oh my god. Was it a coincidence that Ani was wearing the same shirt in my dream? I don't think so. I shivered. I put on my black ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO AWAY tee shirt. I pulled my hair into a ponytail, and put on my beaded necklace. I left the bathroom, grabbing my writing supplies and leaving the room, only to bump into Mr. Rock star himself.

"Hey."

"Hey. You ready to get started?" I asked.

"I can't believe they are making us do this. This is our day off! And, no offence, but we are rivals! Why do we have to work together?" He cried, frustrated. I nodded in agreement. Why do I have to even work with him?  
"I mean, yeah, were enemies! This is completely uncalled for!" I raged. We walked down the hallway to the stairs. I slid down the banister, Jackson going down the stairs.

"Why do you go down the banister anyways?" he asked when he reached the bottom.

"It's quicker." I shrugged. He rolled his eyes and followed me into the music room. I immediately went to the piano, and him the guitar. I played a little tune.

"How about we do the duet last, so our creative juices are already flowing, and we can finish it quickly." I mused. He nodded and strummed a chord. I zoned out, playing what felt right. In the end, I had a masterpiece. Then two. Then three. Then four. Percy stared at me.

"How do you do that?" I shrugged again. The first one I called Shake it Off (**BY TAYLOR SWIFT**), the second All about that Bass, (**MEGHAN TRAINOR)**, the third Bang Bang **(JESSIE J, ARIANA GRANDE, AND NICKI MINAJ) **and the fourth, Close your Eyes **(MEGHAN TRAINOR). **Percy had Happy (**PHARRELL**), Gust of Wind **(PHARRELL),** Counting Stars, **(ONEREPUBLIC) **and Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger **(DAFT PUNK).** All in all, we were proud. We started working on the Duet.

I played a little tune. Then I shook my head.

"Piano doesn't sound right. This isn't a love song." I walked over to the DJ table. I played a beat. Percy grinned. He picked up the electric guitar. At the end, We had created I Got a Feelin' **(BLACK EYED PEAS). **We cheered and gave each other a hug. We brought the song up to Apollo and Artemis. They grinned.

"Annabeth! This is better than Hideaway **(KEISZA)** and Follow the Leader **(JENNIFER LOPEZ)** combined!" Artemis cheered.

"Perce! My man! You did this all by yourself?" Apollo asked.

"Annabeth did most of it." Jackson said, pointing to me.

"Sure she did." Apollo winked at him.

"She did!"  
"I believe that Percy is right, Apollo. Annabeth is the best artist in this house." Artemis gloated.

"HA! As if! That would be Percy, right here." Apollo shot back. I sensed a sibling fight, which could turn ugly.

"Guys, stop. We both did our share equally. Neither one of us did more than the other. Now shoo!" I told them. They both stalked off.

"Wow, you're gonna be a good mom." Percy said, impressed. I blushed. I watched their retreating figures.

"Have you ever thought about your future?" I blurted out. Percy blushed.

"Um, not really. Is that bad?" he asked.

"Well, no. You're really successful in the music business, so it doesn't matter. I was just wondering. Do you plan on being a singer your entire life, or do you have other plans?" I asked.

"Well, I've always wanted to be a Marine Biologist." He told me, grinning sheepishly. My eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You? I'm guessing you don't want to be a singer for the rest of your life." He teased. I rolled my eyes.

"No, I want to be an Architect." Percy chuckled.

"You, an Architect?" I flushed, but glared at him.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, I just…"

"Hmph." I turned away from him and walked off.

"Annabeth! I didn't mean it in that way, I meant-"

"In what possible way could you have meant that?" I snapped.

"I meant I can't really picture you sitting at a desk, drawing all day." He glared back.

My eyes narrowed. "That is not all that Architects do, Jackson. They are artists. They create things that last forever. That's why I want to be an Architect. I want to build something permanent. Something that won't leave me, a helpless child in an alley way…" I trailed off into memory lane. Percy was smiling at me.

"What?" I demanded.

"Nothing. It just seems that you have thought this out much more than I have." I smiled sheepishly at his grin. He had a nice smile.

"Holy crap! It's 5. I have to go. My mom is going to kill me." I said looking at my watch. I grabbed my stuff, kissed Percy on the cheek, and ran out to my car. I reached my car, and my mouth dropped open. Did I just do that?

"Yes, you did." I spun around. Percy was standing there, grinning like a maniac. My eyes widened.

"Percy, I am so sorry, I wasn't thinking, I mean, we have only just met and-" I was cut off by his lips on my cheek. I blushed.

"You didn't let me return the favor." He said smoothly. He turned and walked into the house. The door slammed. I just stood there holding my cheek like an idiot. I climbed into my car, and drove off, feeling giddy.


	13. Chapter 13

**I DO NOT OWN ANY SONG OR TV SHOW MENTIONED IN PREVIOUS CHAPTERS, ALONG WITH THIS CHAPTER!**

**SIXTY THOUSAND! WE ARE FLYING HIGH!**

Annabeth POV

We moved today.

Artemis decided we needed more time to work on our career, so she shipped us uptown to a newly bought mansion. She was going to be our Guardian. My mother didn't take it well.

"How can she take my daughter, who has to focus on school, and put her into a house with no mother to help?" she would complain.

"Mom, I will be fine. Plus, Calypso, Piper and Hazel are as smart as me." I told her.

"No one is as smart as my Athenian." She smiled and hugged me. "Make sure you brush your teeth every morning and night. You don't want to get gingivitis. An-" she was cut off by a horn outside.

"Love you mom. I will visit often." I kissed her goodbye, and ran outside to meet the girls. **(SORRY IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE IT, BUT I ALWAYS LIKED THE IDEA OF ATHENA BEING A LOVING MOTHER. SHE IS ONE IN THE BOOKS, BUT BECAUSE OF THE LAW, SHE CANT SPEND MORE TIME WITH HER KIDS)** Thalia, Piper, and Calypso and Juniper were already in the car.

"Hey 'Beth!" Thalia said. Piper waved, and then went back to talking on the phone.

"Yeah, Dad, I know. Of course I'm sure. Artemis hates guys, Dad. She wouldn't let her favorite band live with them. Especially at this age…." Piper said into her phone.

Juniper and Katie were watching a video on Juni's phone.

"Awww, it's a boy!" she exclaimed.

"That's it's tail." Caly corrected. I winced.

"It's a girl!" Juni squealed. "I just want to hug it to death!"

"It's just a baby goat." Caly said.

"Goats are so cute! I swear, if Grover was half goat, I would still date him!" She sighed. I rolled my eyes and got into the limo.

An hour later, we arrived at the House. Artemis insisted on calling it, Olympus. Whatever.

We immediately went to our rooms. Each room was the size of my living room, so about 21x27.

Thalia had a silver bedroom, with posters like 'Death to Barbie' plastered around it. An electric blue skull was painted on the far wall. She had a black desk.

Calypso's room was painted white, with a red bedspread and purple accents here and there. She immediately crashed on the bed, and threw her stuff on the white desk. She had a red beanbag, and a purple lamp.

Juniper's room was painted to look like a forest, which made my head spin. There were even little animals here and there. Her bedspread had the pattern of leaves, like her curtains. Ironically, her desk was made of juniper wood.

Hazel's room was painted golden. No, really. The bed was covered in a purple comforter, engraved with the letters SPQR. She had a mahogany desk.

Piper's room was a baby blue, with a pink vanity. She also had a pink chair in the corner. Her curtains were completely abstract. (I bet Jackson doesn't know words that big.) Colors were splattered everywhere.

My room was a silvery color, with white desk, sea green bedspread, and purple curtains. I sighed happily. As soon as I set down my bags, Art called out to us.

"GIRLS! DINNER!" We all ran downstairs. Tonight was ham with mashed potatoes and gravy. Along with a salad for our resident vegetarian. As we dug in, Artemis filled us in on our schedule for today.

"You have to record the songs tonight. I gave every one of you a copy of your music. You will record it in the studio after dinner." A chorus of "Okay's" followed.

After we finished up, we went into the basement. The recording studio was awesome. We all got onto our instruments and started recording.

**THREE HOURS LATER**

"Annabeth. Those songs are AWESOME!" I got cheers from the group. We went up to my room.

"So, how was the duet?" Piper giggled.

"Fine." I responded, digging around for my phone. "Nothing happened." I heard giggling from behind me.

"Are you sure? Percy came up telling the boys about how you guys were making out like there was no tomorrow." I blew up with rage.

"He said WHAT?" I turned around, my face red with anger.

"Do you need me to repeat that?" Calypso said sweetly.

"I'm going to kill him." I grabbed my phone and texted Percy.

_Where are you guys living?_

His answer was almost immediate

**(INSERT ADRESS HERE)**

_I'm coming over_

**Care 2 share y?**

_No_

**Y not?**

_All u need to no is that u are going 2 die_

**WHAT?**

_Remember, u caused this_

**Annabeth?  
Annie? Please answer…**

**ANNABETH!**

I shoved my phone in my pocket, and got into my car. I was legally old enough to drive.

I drove to the address that he sent me, and got out, trying to look casual and not like I am going to kill someone.

I rang the doorbell.

Jason answered the door.

"Hey Annabeth! What's up?" he grinned. "Where are Piper and the girls?"

"It's just me." I answered sweetly.

"Okay. Come in." I stepped through the doorway and gasped. The house was beautiful. With the arcs of the ceiling and the height of the walls, this would be a great museum, just to give you the size of the house. Or should I say mansion. I almost cried at the interior. It was magnificent, and I could have stared at it for hours, soaking in its beauty. But I had a job to do.

"Where's Percy?" I asked, still mesmerized by the house. I saw Jason smirk out of the corner of my eye.

"You know, if you stopped staring at the house, you would see him." I snapped my head to the hallway on the right. There he stood, in all his… Was that, pillows?

Indeed it was. Percy Jackson, teenage heartthrob was scared of Annabeth Chase, girl with many talents, and was covered in pillows. I stifled a laughed and tried to keep my composure.

"What are you wearing?"

"Annabeth Chase! You have challenged me. Approach me if you dare!" he said in a bad British accent. I rolled my eyes, and walked up to him. The boys gathered around Jason, whispering to him. Percy was literally covered. The only part not covered was his face. He had a pillow covering the top of his head, and every other part of that boy's anatomy. I punched him in the stomach, and he doubled over.

"JASON! YOU SAID THIS WOULD WORK!" he yelled. Jason shrugged, trying not to smile. I giggled, holding my stomach like him. Then I remembered my reason for coming.

"YOU TOLD THEM THAT WE MADE OUT?" I yelled at him.

"So you did!" Frank said triumphantly. I glared at him, and he withered under my gaze. I immediately felt bad. Frank wasn't a bad guy. He was insanely sweet, and was very soft-spoken. I turned to Jackson.

"We did not. Make. Out." I snarled. I could feel the fear coming off the guys. I got a call from my mom, and I watched as Percy sighed in relief. I glared at him.

"This. Isn't. Over." I walked out of the room and answered the phone.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Annabeth!" said my mother's cheerful voice. "How's the new house?"

"Good mom. Are you in the car?" I asked, referring to the engine sounds in the background.

I could practically hear her wave it off. "Yes. It doesn't matter. Are the girls bothering you at all? I can have a petition singed to get you out off there." She said.

"I'm good mom. I miss you." I heard her sigh.

"I miss you too."

"Where are you?" I asked.

"I'm on my way to home. On the freeway." I heard a squeal of tires, and my mom screamed a curse word.  
"Mom?" I asked, nervous.

"I'm here. Some morons don't know how to drive." She said. She started to say something, but it was cut off by a crush of metal, squealing tires, and a scream.

"Mom? MOM?" I yelled. No answer. "NO!" I rushed out the door, the boys yelling and chasing after me. I jumped in my car, and started it. But it didn't start. It was like it sensed my distress.

"NO! YOU HAVE TO START! Please." I wept. The guys reached my car, and saw me crying.

"Annabeth?" Grover asked timidly. I looked at them, tears streaming down my face.

"My mom… car… please." I cried. They helped me out of the car, and loaded me into their van. I sat in shotgun, and kept breaking down into tears. Percy was driving. Jason was rubbing my back, saying soothing things. Leo fiddled with little nuts and bolts. Grover fiddled with the hem of his shirt. Frank was staring ahead. Nico watched me.

"Annabeth, what happened?" he asked.

"My mom… I'm not really sure, but I heard crashing sounds in the background, and a scream. I'm… I'm scared." I put my head in my hands. Tears streamed down my face. I haven't cried since I was 7, and I ran away. This was horrible.

"Annabeth, would you like me to call the girls?" Grover asked. I nodded silently.

"Hey Juni… Yeah, she's here… Not with us, but Annabeth's mom was in a crash… Yeah, wait, no. Crap. Okay. Meet us at the hospital closest to Annabeth's house. Okay. Bye." He ended the call, and dialed three numbers.

"Hello?... A car crash on (INSERT ROAD HERE) in (INSERT TOWN HERE)… Athena Pallas…We are not there yet, on our way with Athena's daughter. Okay. Thank you. Bye." He hung up, and shoved his phone in his pocket.

"I cant believe we forgot to call the police. We are idiots!"

"We're coming mom…" I muttered, before drifting off into sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Annabeth POV

Someone was shaking me awake. I opened my eyes. I was in the Boy's Van, which was parked in front of a tall building. The hospital. I jumped out of the car, and ran to the door. I stopped at the lady at the front desk.

"Is Athena Chase here?" I asked desperately.

"Yes. But she is not taking visitors yet, dear. You can wait outside her room, there are chairs. She is in room 107A." I dashed to the elevator, briefly seeing the boys jog in. Percy met my eyes for a second, before the doors closed. I reached the floor I needed, and sped to her door. The doctors were inside, blocking my view. I numbly walked to the chairs, and sat down. The boys joined me a few minutes later. Grover put his hand on my shoulder.

"Annabeth, she will be okay. I talked to a nurse." I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. The others hung around awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Leo played with a few bolts. Percy opened his mouth to say something, but the girls coming in interrupted him.

"Annabeth! Oh my gods, I am so sorry." Calypso said.

"Gods?" Asked Nico. Thalia glared at him, and he backed off, his hands raised. Hazel was red eyed from crying. She got emotional when someone was hurt.

"We passed the crash on the way here. It was… Awful. The car wasn't a car anymore. It was just scraps. Un-drivable. The other car was destroyed as well. The guy who hit her was drunk. His name, we learned, was Encleadus, or something." Juniper told me.

"Enceladus." Hazel sniffled out.

"Did you say enchiladas?" Leo asked.

Juniper carried on, "And the cops were there. We talked to them about the damage. The car will be replaced, and the guy was arrested for DWI. He was fine." I nodded. Anger filled me. I wanted to find and kill that man. He did this. I was about to get up, when a girl on a stretcher passed me. Two girls flanked her sides.

"…Heather I'm so sorry I didn't mean to hurt you this was a complete accident I'm really sorry please forgive me…" said one of the girls. The one on the stretcher laughed.

"It's okay Ani. I don't need an apology. I know it was an accident. Besides," she lowered her voice, "We can always blame Shae."

"Hey!" the third girl said.

"Sorry Shae. Heth, you want me to call your mom?" She nodded. The first girl, 'Ani', stopped near us, and pulled out her phone. She dialed the number, but stopped when she saw me.

"You… You're the girl from my dream." I said. Her eyebrows raised up.

"Me? Why would I be in your dream?"

"You tell me, you were the one who was in it."

"Ok. Your subconscious sometimes understands the future without you recognizing it, and you dream about something that may happen in the future. Your subconscious knew you would meet me, so it sent you a hint of how it would look like. What happened in the dream." I reencountered the dream for her. My friends listened. When I was done, she cracked a smile.

"So Heth and Shae were in it too, as well as Chai. Okay. I guess you were right, because we are both in times of sort-of peril."

"Chai? Like the tea?" I asked. She smiled wider.

"Well, think. What was the little girls name?"

"Tia."

"Take away the A."

"Ti. Oh. Chai is a type of Tea. Or in this case Ti." I said.

She grinned "Actually, it originated from when I shortened my nickname for her, Child, to Chai. Then I put the pieces together, and it worked. She absolutely hates it. I think it's clever."

"So, what happened to Heather over there?" I asked. She quickly tapped away on her phone, and started to explain that they were bouncing on her trampoline, and she had crashed into Heather, knocking her over, and accidentally sprained her knee.

"I honestly thought she was going to kill me." She chuckled.

A woman and man that looked a lot like Heather rushed in, following a boy that could have passed as her twin.

"She's that way Hunter." Ani told the boy. He nodded, and raced off, his father at his heels.

"Ani, where are your parents?"

"I…I think they are still at work." She nodded, and raced off after her family.

"Well, its been nice talking to you guys, but I have to go find my sister." She raced to the elevator, groaned when it took to long, and took the stairs.

"She's weird." Grover noticed. I saw Frank roll his eyes. The doctor came out of the room across from us. I jumped up.

"Annabeth Chase?" he asked. I nodded.

"Your mother is going to be fine. Unfortunately, we have realized she has heart problems, so we will have to keep her for a while."

"You call that fine?" I demanded. A hand was put on my shoulder.

"Annabeth, we need to go. Artemis is going to be worried. Its already really late. We have school tomorrow." I nodded, glared at the doctor, and trudged to the cars.


	15. Chapter 15

Annabeth POV

I walked into school, with Juniper at my side. People ignored us. As usual.

"So then, when he wasn't looking, I tackled him, and we fell into the pool." She said, giggling. I forced a smile. I didn't like this place. I also didn't like that my mom was in the hospital. I really didn't like that that girl was actually real, and so were her friends. Every thing was freaking me out.

"Annabeth, are you okay? You didn't even laugh." Juni said, obviously worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just, you know, worried about Mom."  
"I'm sorry Annabeth. I know this must be hard for you. But your Mom's tough. She will get through this in one piece." I nodded, grateful for her words.

"Oh look." Said a snide voice. "It's the new girls."

"Oh, look Annabeth, it's the clown who dresses in really skimpy outfits." Juni laughed. The girl fumed.

"Look, Sydney, I don't have time for this. I have to get to class."

"Wow, you actually care about class? What a joke." Sydney laughed, her posy, which consisted of six girls, laughed as well. I rolled my eyes.

"Jess, Amber, Kari, Rebecca, Tierra, Gabby." A voice behind me. "And of course, Sydney. Wow, you think those shoes are in season? They are soo last semester. And that scarf? Who wants to look like their covered in vomit! Gods, just leave before I puke from you fashion sense. If you can call it that!" I turned around, to see a girl who I didn't expect.

"Drew?" Juniper said, her mouth open.

"Hello girls! What's up? Come with me!" She steered us away from the freaks.

"Um Drew, I really have to get to class, soo…" I started to say.

"Don't worry, that's where were going, sweetie. Gods I hate those uneducated freaks! NO fashion sense whatsoever. The think they're all that. I don't put up with them bothering anyone. They don't deserve it. Oh, here we are! See you girls later!" she giggled and sauntered away.

"Wow." Juniper said, after she turned the corner in her designer heels. "We just saw another side of Drew."

"Yes we did." We entered the class, just as the bell rang.

"Cutting it kind of close, girls." Mrs. Reed said.

"Sorry, we had an incident."

"Okay, just make sure you get here earlier next time."

We sat down in the middle, next to Frank and Calypso.

"Took you long enough." Caly whispered. I rolled my eyes, and waved to Frank. He smiled slightly and turned his focus to the teacher.

"Now, here is a picture from 1923. Can anyone tell me what it is a picture of?"

I raised my hand.

"Annabeth?"  
"A Flapper. Flappers were young girls who wore short skirts, cut their hair and put on makeup. They were famous for being different, and standing out. They started the dance, the Charleston. People thought they were too rebellious for that time."

"Very well done, Annabeth. Now, as she said, flappers were the rebels of the 1920's. They…" she droned on and on. I took notes in a daze.

Finally, after 40 long minutes, the bell finally rang. I jumped out of my seat and almost ran for the door.

"Whoa, Annie. You're excited to get out of class."

"Yeah, because I know all of that stuff. It's boring. I would be in Honors, but considering we weren't here last year, I wasn't eligible."

"Wow, the great Annabeth Chase isn't eligible for something? The world is ending."

"I'm surprised you know what that word means, Jackson." I said snarkily.

"Hey, Frankie! Where you going?" He threw his arm around Frank's shoulder. Frank looked at his schedule.

"Chemistry. You?" He asked.

"Wherever Annabeth goes." He threw a wink in my direction. I fought back a blush.

"Perce?" Frank cautiously said.

"Yeah?"

"We have to go…"

"Why?"

"Fan girls." Percy froze, and dragged Frank down the Hall.

"See you girls later!" He called.

"They are so unlucky." Caly said.

"Right? At least we don't have to deal with Fan girls."

"Yeah." Said Hazel's voice. I turned.

"Hey Hazel. How 'you doing?" Juni said.

"Fine. Was that Frank?" She asked, sounding small.  
"Yeah. You just missed him." I said.

"Excuse me?" said a male's voice. I turned.

"Annabeth, can I talk to you?" Luke asked. I frowned.

"Fine." I stomped toward the lockers.

"Look," he started. "About the first day… I wanted to apologize. I had gone to a party the previous night, and Kari slipped something in my drink. It made me really… weird. The effects hadn't worn off until the next night. I wanted to apologize for what I did, because I don't remember any of it. All I know is that I woke up that night with really bad back pain and a memory of many detentions." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Hey, it's okay. I get it. About the thing she slipped you, what did it look like?" I asked.

"I don't know. One minute I was talking to her, annoyed at her attitude, the next I was kissing her, convinced that she was the best thing in the world. The next morning, you looked like her, but even though I knew it wasn't her, I attacked you anyways. I'm really sorry."

"It's fine." The bell rang. "I'll see you around?"  
"Definitely." He said, his face relieved.

"Don't drink anything that looks suspicious!" I called after him. He laughed. I ran to class.

**READ PLEASE!**

**Okay! So sorry for the wait guys, I was sort of discouraged by some rude comments that people were leaving. I also started some new stories. Anyways, just wasn't in the mood for writing. But guess what! Got a 96 on my Bio Regents! WHOOT WHOOT! I am not going to ask anyone to 'congratulate' me or 'worship' me, because if you look at the comments, I do that. LOL. So, yeah. If you have anything mean to say, don't say it at all! PS, if anyone gets a message from someone telling you to take down your story because you have something copyrighted, like a SONG, for instance, even though you have a disclaimer, ignore them. They are trying to lower your self esteem, and be jerks. **

**A message to anyone who believes that Disclaimers aren't legit: it says right in the story guidelines, that disclaimers are needed if you are righting a story that has copyright. And there is no reason to pick on one person, because EVERYONE does them. And, btw, I HAVENT GOTTEN SUED YET, SO JOKES ON YOU!**

**(Sorry, but these comments are horrible. Check them out)**

**Good Day to y'all!**


	16. Chapter 16

Annabeth POV

"I don't know about this, 'Beth." Thalia said, glaring at Luke's back from our lunch table.

"Come on, Thals. He was just 'Under the Influence.' He's perfectly harmless."

"Oh, yeah. 'Harmless.' As if. That's how they get 'Chu. They real you in with pretty faces and fake truths and BOOM!" she slammed her hand on the table, making me jump. "You're their breakfast."  
"You have been watching way to many cop shows."

"They are reality, Annabeth. _Reality_…" She trailed off creepily. I rolled my eyes at her. A lunch tray slammed down next to me, making me jump again.

"Thalia, we need to talk." Piper said through gritted teeth.

"About…"

"About your brother." She growled. I nodded and stood up.

"Well, I'm gonna leave the boy drama to you. I have to get to class."

"Annabeth, there's still 15 minutes left of lunch." Hazel said.

"Yeah, so?" I asked confused. They all sighed and started talking. I turned away and walked to my next class.

"Hello Mr. Brunner." I called out as I walked into the almost empty classroom. The handicapped man smiled.

"Hello, dearest Annabeth, what brings you into my Latin class?"

I smiled back. "I actually had some questions on the homework. You see, the words Ego sum facturus sum Duis congue ornare, doesnt translate to what you wanted it to be. The words actually mean..." I stopped as I looked up at the professer.

"Annabeth, dear, you worry too much. _Way_ too much. Its just a typo I was going to go over in class. You need to let go on all this worry. Have you been getting enough sleep? I have heard from your other teachers that you have been getting a lot of work."

"Yes, Mr. Brunner. I have been getting enough sleep. I am just trying to do my best and be a good student." I reasoned.

"Ookay Annabeth, whatever you think..." He sang.

"Um, Mr. Brunner? Can I talk to you for a minute?" A younger boy asked, poking his head in.

"Yes, Matthew, come in. Annabeth, you head over there. Wait for the class to start, and fix your homework." I sat in my usual spot and put my stuff at my side. I worked on the rest of my homework until the bell rang.

"Chhhhhhhaaaaaaasssssseeeeeee..." Percy droled. I rolled my eyes as he sat behind me. "Jaaaaaaaaaaccccccckkkkkssssssoooonnnnnn?" I answered.

"I'm tired."

"So?"

"Make me less tired."

"Percy, that's physically impossible unless you sleep more."

"Hmm, Ms. Chase." Mr. Brunner interuppted. "Seems you can take some of your own advice and sleep more yourself."

"Mr. Brunner. I promise you I am getting more than enough sleep every night." I tried to reason.

"Really?" He asked. "What time do you go to bed at night?"

I frowned. "Well, there is no constant time I go to bed every night, Sir."

"And how man hours of sleep did you get last night."

"About six or seven." Now it was his turn to frown. "Annabeth, you are supposed to get at least 8 hours each night. And you are getting less than that on average."

"But sir-."

"No buts. Tonight you will go to sleep before 11-o-clock. If not, I will make sure I speak personally to Artemis. You know how we are old friends." He smiled with a glint in his eye.

"Y-yes sir."

"Good. 'Morning class."

"Morning."

"Now today we will be disscusing the root of the latin language. It diverged from..." "Psst."

"Not now Percy." I muttered.

"Annabeth." Said a voice to my left.

"Jason?" I looked over, and sure enough, the blonde beauty was sitting to my left. "What? I'm trying to focus." I whispered.

"Can we talk? After class?" He looked worried.

"Yeah. Sure." I turned my attention back to the teacher for the rest of the period. BRIIIIIIING I stood up and reached for my bag. But before I could, an arm hoisted me up and out the door. "JASON!" I shreiked. He put me down.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just... nervous."

"Nervous for what?"

"I'm sure you know by now that I like Piper. A-a lot. And I think I ruined my chances with her when I was assaulted by Reyna. Piper has barely said a word to me since then. I need you to get her to talk to me." I was silent for a second.

"No."

"What?" He asked, astonished.

"I can't do that. Thats something you need to do on your own. You need to earn her trust."

"I've been trying. I brought flowers and chocoltes and sang songs-."

"You're going about this all wrong. You need to start again. From the beginning."

"L-like introduce myself and ask her name?"

"Yes. It may be hard to admit, but you're basically strangers. If she wont talk to you, start over. Earn her trust as a friend. Then, once you are back to where you were a week ago, you can try asking her out."

He was silent for a second. "You think it will work?"

"It worked with me today, why can't it work for you?" he answered me with silence. I sighed. "Look. Try it out. If it doesnt work, twice your sadness back garuntee. That's the best I can do. I've got to get to class." I turned around and started walking.

"Hey, Annabeth?" he called.

"Yeah?" I expected some big long speech about the greatness of friendship.

"Your stuff is still in the classroom." He said. "Oh, uh, thanks." "And thanks for the advice. I'll try to use it in the way you said."

"Bye Jason."

"Bye Annabeth."

"HEY JASON!" I heard Percy yell from down the hall. "HANDS OFF, I HAD DIBS!"

I stiffened and turned around slowly. "Dibs?" I asked quietly. The terrified look on both of there faces was almost enough to cheer me up. I turned around and called over my shoulder, "Watch you back, Jackson! I know where you live!"


	17. Chapter 17

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! I'm super excited for the first and only Halloween in 2015! I'm being a Ninja! Review and tell me what you're being! WOOT WOOT!**

It's that time of year again! The end of October means the beginning of really spooky stuff.

"This is Halloween, this is Halloween…" Piper sang as she hung up the decorations with me. Hazel and Thalia carved pumpkins on the table, and Calypso and Juniper were cooking the seeds. Reyna brought in more pumpkins from outside, and yes, we were all on good terms now. She was a lot like me, now that I got to know her. I grabbed the small tissue paper and cotton ball ghosts and strung them together. Piper helped me attach them to the ends of the mantel over the fireplace. The radio on the counter spewed Halloween songs, which were terrifyingly catchy. The fire crackled with life, and at the chorus, we all yelled together, "GHOST BUSTERS!" It was almost perfect. There was one last thing missing.

"Where's Art?" Thalia asked. Hazel shrugged.

"Buying candy for the Trick-or-Treaters. She plans on staying back while we go collect candy from giving people." I told her.

"What are you guys being for Halloween anyways?" Calypso asked from the counter.

"I'm being Katniss." Piper told her.

"Piper, are you a fangirl?" Juniper asked her.

"Yes, and I'm proud!" We laughed.

"I think I'm gonna be Supergirl, cause she's cool." I said thoughtfully.

"Annie, you totally should! You look just like her!" Juniper squealed. I sighed.

"Can you please stop with that name?"

"I'm being Katara from the Last Airbender. At least, I think it's a good idea. Thoughts?" Reyna asked.

"Yes. Yes, yes, yes." Thalia said without looking up.

"Okay." She said.

"I'm gonna be Princess Leia." Calypso said.

"Cool!" Hazel said. "I think I'm going to be Vixen." She said, and we answered with silence.

"Like… the reindeer?" Thalia asked. Hazel laughed.  
"No, she's a superhero who can use any animal as a power, sort of like shape shifting. She can grow claws and paws, and beaks and talons. Pretty cool, huh?" She asked. We all nodded in agreement.

"Should I be Catwoman…?" Thalia asked.

"That sort of fits you." Piper said.

"Okay, I'll be her."

"Who should I be?" Juniper wondered aloud.

"Jean Gray." Thalia said at once.

"Why?"

"They have the same hair, and she wears green, your favorite color. End of sentence." She explained.

"Ok then."

"Why are we all being some kind of heroine?" I asked.

"Because we are heroines…" Calypso said.

"Ooooooooooh." We all said spookily, causing us to crack up.

"We sounded like the ghost choir." Piper laughed.

"GHOST BUSTERS!" we all shouted as the radio sang the chorus. We all went back to work, silent.

"Piper, can you give me a boost?" I asked as we reached the staircase. She nodded and laced her fingers together. She lifted me up, and I tied the streamers to the lights. The door opened and shut, and Thalia yelled out.

"What was that?" I asked as Piper lowered me to the ground. She shrugged and we made our way over to the door. Piper screamed.

A hooded figure wearing a white mask held a bloody knife, standing over a struggling Hazel.

"NO!" I yelled.

Laughter emerged from behind the mask, and the person pulled the hood and mask off, let Hazel go, and revealed a laughing Artemis.

"Not FUNNY!" I yelled as she cackled.

"Um, yes funny." She snorted.

"I thought you were a murderer." Hazel gasped. She easily could have taken her down, Art was very light, but was too surprised too.

"Hazel, it's okay, it's just a prank." Art reasoned with her.

"Never do _anything _like that again. _Ever_." She was still breathing heavy when she made her way back to her workstation. Thalia comforted her, and glared at Artemis.

"Art, that was the worst person to prank like that. You know that, right?"

"Yeah I do. She was close by and was the most likely not to flip me." She said, looking guilty. "Anyway, I got the candy and thought you all could take a break and go buy your costumes." She suggested.

"Good idea. We need the break. I think Thalia and Hazel have carved fifty pumpkins, and Caly and Juni made about 50 batches of seeds. We're almost out of decorations." I told her.

"I can see why, the house looks great." She gestured to the completely covered house. There were decorations on every inch we could reach. We were clearly in the mood.

"Well how 'bout you-" She was cut off by me as I held my hand out, cueing her to stop. I counted down silently, and in sync we yelled out "THRILLER! THRILLER NIGHT!" Art jumped at our sudden screams.

"As I was saying," she continued, "You should go get your costumes."

"Girls, come on, costume shopping!"

"YAY!" They cheered. We filed into the separate cars and headed to the costume store.

…

"I am pushing the cart, stop complaining." I told the complaining girls. They smiled gratefully, and headed off into the store. Hazel stayed close, a little jumpy from that incident. I could already see her hardening inside, becoming tougher. The smallest things tend to end up being the biggest things.

"Hazel, what are we looking for?"  
"Vixen."

"Right. Superhero section it is." Surprisingly, they had Vixen, even though I have never heard of her.

"Cool, she looks like you too! You're gonna be great!"

"Thanks, Annabeth."

"Now, Supergirl." She was easy. I found her in seconds, and started to help Juniper find her Jean Gray outfit. It took a long time, but we found it. Thalia had found Catwoman in that time. We shoveled them into the cart and headed off to help the others. Piper met up with us and tossed her costume in the bin. Calypso had found hers, but with only one x-small size left. She had changed to Captain Marvel. Reyna showed up with the Katara costume, and we headed over to the

Cashiers until I realized something.

"I'll be right back." I jogged over the Superhero section and grabbed a costume of the rack. I smiled at it as I ran back.

"For Art." I held it up to the girls. They laughed and nodded.

"Good choice Annabeth. She's find you _hysterical." _Sarcasm oozed out of Junipers voice. I laughed and paid.

"Have a great day, gorgeous." The acne-covered cashier said in a French accent, winking at Piper. She made a face and turned around, getting out as fast as possible.

"Weirdo." She said.

"I hate guys like that." Thalia said.

"Well, then you're gonna hate us!" Said a voice from behind us. We stopped in our tracks.

"No. Flipping. Way."


	18. Chapter 18

"Haaapy Holidays," Leo sang as he slid through he front door. "Haaapy Holidays. And the fairy bells keep ringing, Happy Holiday's to yoooooooooooou!" He yelled through the house.

"I'm not sure those are the lyrics." Grover told him.

"Or if you're thinking of the right holiday." Nico said from the table, eating pumpkin pie, courtesy of Juniper and Calypso, they had delivered it the day before. Percy strummed a chord on his acoustic, and wrote something down on his paper. Frank was sitting next to him, and suddenly stood up.

"Guys!" He yelled frantically.

"What's up Zhang?" Leo called back

"Halloween's tomorrow. We don't have costumes or decorations or pumpkins. And I bed the girls are all ready, and if we want better costumes and stuff…" Jason stood.

"He's right. I plan on having a costume ten times better than Piper."

"I heard she's being Katniss. Maybe you should be Peeta." Percy said without looking up.

"Shut up Perce."

"What should I be?" Frank asked.

"Hawkeye." Leo said.

"Okay then, that was easy." He sat down, looking relieved.

"I'm being Johnny Storm."

"FLAME ON!" Percy yelled.

"That is very…Leo." Jason mused.

"If he's being The Human Torch, you should be Superman." Grover told Jason.

"Cool, that works."  
"Or he could be Peter Pan." Leo suggested.

"Um, no."  
"Percy should be Aqua Man."

"Ahem. No."

"I'm being Batman." Nico said. Everyone looked at him and broke into laughter.

"NICO THAT'S PERFECT!" Percy yelled out.

"He basically is Batman anyways!"

"Nico, do it."

"JUST DO IT SHIA!" Leo yelled out.

"Leo, you need to chill out with that." Grover chided.

"Yes mom."

"Grover should be Spider-Man."

"Why?"

"'Cause you're a nature freak, and spiders are from nature…"  
"So are bats, and you don't see me running around in a bat costume."

"Do you want to be Poison Ivy?"

"Spider-Man it is."

"Percy, what _are_ you being?"

"I'm considering the Flash or Green Lantern."

"Hard choice. Maybe Captain America?"

"Or Tony Stark."

"Hahahah, no."

"Well, I think I should eliminate Flash. He's cool and super fast and maybe one of my favorites, but he's nothing like me." Percy said.

"So Green Lantern or Cap?"

"Not sure. We should go get out costumes and I'll decide from there." Percy went to get his jacket, when Jason cried out in pain.  
"What's up bro?" Leo called out.

"My contact. Ow." He scurried off to the bathroom. Apollo came in the room.

"Where you kids going?" he removed a coke from the fridge.

"Halloween shopping. We need pumpkins, decorations, candy and costumes. What do you want?"

"Get me an Apollo costume."

"Excuse me?"

"The superhero Apollo. I heard they named one after me." He laughed.

"Okay then. Whatever." Grover said as Jason walked out with his gold-rimmed glasses on.

"Contacts broke. None left." He grunted.

"On to the store!" Percy shouted as he grabbed the keys.

"Get me that costume!" Apollo called to them as they drove off.

"Pumpkins first?"

"Yeah."

…

It took a while, but they reached the store. Percy pulled his hat down on his head and pulled his hood up. Jason put on a hat as well, but didn't need as much of a disguise as the rest because of his glasses. Frank put on a pair of dorky glasses, and Leo put on shades. Grover attached an earing and beanie. Nico put on a blonde wig and hat.

"Ready?"

"Yep."

They got out of the car and picked the biggest pumpkins they could find. Leo couldn't pick his up, so Frank had to help him. They paid and left before someone could recognize them.

Next was the Drug store for candy. The cute girl at the register was openly flirting with Percy, and her colleague hit her shoulder and told her to knock it off.

"You look familiar." Percy told her. She shrugged.

"I've been told that a lot." That's when it dawned on him.

"You're that girl from the Hospital. With Heather and Shae."

"Oh! You're the boy that wouldn't stop staring at the Blonde girl!" she said. The boys laughed as he blushed.

"You all shouldn't be laughing. You all were staring too. But the guy in the beanie has a reason, it's his girlfriend."

'How'd you know?"

"She was sitting on you're lap."  
"Oh."

"Ani, how do you know them?" the short Asian girl asked her.

"Oh, guys who I still don't know your names, this is Alyssa. Alyssa, guys. Would you like to introduce yourselves or what?"

"Um, no. If you don't mind."

"Okay, everyone has their secrets, Jackson."  
"Oh, crap." They all said together.

"How'd you know?" Jason asked her.

"Oh Grace, so young, so naïve." She said.

"You're like, 13."

"You didn't look any different in the Hospital." She told us. "You just looked like you do on TV."

"Ani! Explain!" Alyssa yelled.

"Remember when Heather came into school with a broken leg?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, it was sort of my fault. And while we were at the hospital, I met these idiots with their to-be girlfriends."

"Awe, I was hoping they were single."

"You have high hopes." She told her.

"And why'd you call him Jackson and that guy Gra-…" She stopped and looked at me. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth.

"OMG! Are you THB?" She whispered-yelled.

"Keep the change!" Percy told her as they ran out the door. They could hear Ani laughing as they ran.

"See you dorks later!" she yelled after them.

"That was close!" Frank said.

"That little b-" Leo said

"Gave us away." Jason finished.

"She is so much like Annabeth it's scary." Percy said as we peeled away.

"Yeah, on that I can agree." Grover said.

"Decorations next, right?"

"Yeah."  
…

"What do we want?"

"That rat." Jason pointed to a large rubber rat that looked like it had rabies.

"Yes!" Leo grabbed it and shoved it into the cart that Frank pushed.

"And that crow raven thing."

"We need supplies to carve and light the pumpkins."

"And a smoke machine!"

"Yes!"

"Okay then."

About 15 minutes later, their cart was overflowing as they piled decorations into the trunk.

"I think were good." Jason said as they shut the trunk.

The loaded up the car and went to the costume store.

Percy got out of the car first, with his disguise fitted onto his head.

He led the band into the large store, which immediately dispersed.

Percy headed over to the men's section, and to the Superhero section. He met up with the other guys, and started to search for someone.

"Percy, I think Green Lantern is more like you. He has attitude, while Cap has no idea 'bout anything." Jason said.

"Okay." He said as he pulled down Green Lantern in his size.

"…Think you'll be a great Katniss, Piper…" He heard a girl say from behind him. Oh, no way are they here.

"Did you hear that?" Frank asked.

"Yes I did. Let's go get'em." Leo said as he started to follow them. Jason held his collar to stop him.

"No. They will see what were being, and there is no way I'm letting Piper see that I'm being Superman. I'll never hear the end of it."

"Good point." Percy said. "We don't want Jason to be teased." He struggled to keep a strait face. "Especially by his crush."

"Shut up Jackson."  
"We should go pay." They made their way over to the cashier. He called after Piper in a horrible French accent.

"Lay off." Jason growled as we arrived.

"Why, is the pretty girl taken?" he asked. "Such a shame, she really is beautiful."

"Don't touch her with your greasy hands." Leo was holding him back.

"Jase, shut up. We can go after the after we pay." Percy told him. He paid and Jason dashed out the door.

"Jase, wait!" they ran after him. They got close enough to hear their conversation.

"…I hate guys like that." Thalia said.

"Well, you're gonna hate us then!" Leo called out. They froze.

"No. Flipping. Way." Annabeth said.

"Hide the costumes!" Hazel shrieked. The guys did the same.

"There is no way we are letting you see what we are being." Annabeth told them. Percy smirked.

"Well, 'Beth. Maybe I will. We already know what Piper's being." He said. She blushed.

"Yeah, so? You won't find out what their being! Not until tomorrow night!" She said.

"Same with us!" Grover called.

"Well, have fun with not knowing…" Annabeth said as she walked away.

"Wait!" I called after her. The guys looked at me, smirking.

"What?" She turned on her heel.

"You should come over and help us decorate. You know that guys can't decorate."

"Yeah, that's true." Calypso said.

"Fine. We'll follow you, I don't know the way."  
"You drive?" I asked her. She snorted, which was sorta cute.

"No, I navigate. Thalia drives. She is the oldest."

"Great, Annie, see you there." I told her. She fumed at the nickname.

"Don't you dare call me that." She threatened. I just smiled as I made my way to the car.

ANNABETH POV

I saw his costume.

No, really. As he walked away, he was swinging his bag around, and his costume peeked out.

"Green Lantern, huh." I told the girls.

"What?"

"Percy's being Green Lantern. I have to admit, It's very him." The girls giggled as I pulled away.

"Hey, Hal Jordan." I told him as we got out of the car. The girls raced the guys inside, leaving him and me alone.

"How'd you know?" He asked, astonished.

"I'm a mind reader." I told him, smiling.

"Okay, you know what I'm being, so you tell me what you're being."

"Hmm, let me think about that for a second. No."

"What?" he asked as they headed inside. "Why?"

"You know about Katniss." I told him. "That makes us even."

"Okay, okay. Fine. I just have to hope it involves a short skirt." He said, and despite myself, I blushed. If only he knew.

"Shut up, Jackson." We got inside, and the first thing I noticed was that Jason hadn't completely taken his disguise off yet.

"Hey, specs." I told him. He looked confused for a moment, but then laughed.

"These aren't part of my costume, they are my glasses." He answered. My eyes widened and I laughed.

"The perfect boy band isn't so perfect anymore, huh?" I said.

"Jase, since when do you wear glasses?" Thalia frowned.

"Um, since I was left with Dad. He took me in for an eye exam." An awkward silence settled over us.

"So, anyone want to decorate?"


	19. Chapter 19

"Battle of the best costumes!" Leo cheered, as the boys came out of their respective bedrooms. In exactly one hour, they would have to bare the cold, and collect candy from strangers. Which is exactly what your parents always told you not to do. Don't take candy from strangers unless it's on Halloween, kids.

"FLAME ON!" Leo yelled as he ran down the stairs in his skin tight four outfit, Jason following regally, his cape flowing like a king's. After him came Frank, who was holding his real bow and had fake arrows in his quiver. Grover slowly made his way down the stairs, and pulled his mask over his face. Percy skipped stairs on the way down, too excited for the next hour. His green costume was showing off his muscles, and he was pretty proud, to say the least. Batman-sorry Nico came next, and he looked pretty smug in his black cloak. Apollo waited at the bottom of the stairs, looking dashing in his white-gold outfit.

"You guys look great!" He exclaimed.

"Thanks Apollo, so do you." Grover said, always the polite one.

"We need a picture in front of the fireplace. Everyone over there." He said, ushering the groaning boys over. "Come on, move, move, move." They all gathered in front of the fire as Apollo pulled out his phone.

"Smile for the fan girls." He said as they all grinned. The picture would probably make many girls swoon.

"Great. Now make a vlog for the channel while you're out there, Percy. Just don't give away where we live. I don't want the media swarming the house 24/7." Apollo told them. Percy tweeted out, "Live streaming now!" and put his phone away. Percy grabbed his camera and turned it on.

"Hey guys!" He waved.

The camera live streamed straight to his channel. He started getting comments immediately, saying mostly positive things.

I looked at my twitter and saw that Percy was live streaming. I saved it and decided to look at it later. I put my contacts in and met the girls downstairs. I pulled my camera out and started filming as well. I will edit my video later, though.

"Hello Earthlings! My name is Kara Zor-El, AKA Supergirl, as you humans call me. Behind me is your favorite human warrior named Katniss. Odd name, right?" Piper lightly hit me on the arm and smiled at the camera. I laughed and threw an arm around her shoulder.

"So Heather, how does it feel to be on camera." She looked at my brown eyes and smiled knowingly.

"Well, Alex… I feel famous!" She exclaimed. We heard laughter behind us. Caly and Thalia were sitting at the table, cracking up.

"Kait, what are you laughing at?" I sighed.

"How stupid you guys are." Thalia said, still chuckling. "Never become actors. You suck!" They started laughing again.

"Geez, Kait. I expected it from you, but not from Arianna. You were always so sweet." I simpered. Piper faked tears.

"Alex, I believe our little Rosa is growing up!" She wiped away the tears in her eyes.

"Very funny Katniss."

"It is funny, Princess Leia. Who expected her and Catwoman to get along?" Piper asked, astonished.

"I think Jean Gray did!" Juniper announced, running down the stairs. Her X-Men costume looked great on her.

"Brooke, that looks great on you!" Princess Leia squealed. I winced at the high octave.

"Try not to kill my ears, please." I told her. She stuck her tongue out at me/

"Very mature." Catwoman rolled her eyes.

"Alex?" Hazel's head poked out from the bathroom.

"Yeah?" I asked her.

"Can you help me with something?"

"Sure, Kayla, be right there." I handed the camera to Piper, who immediately started singing praises. I never give my camera to anyone. It's my baby. I walked over to the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" I asked Hazel. I hadn't seen her like this since we started self-defense class. I shut the door, and turned around to see her holding her costume out, studying it.

"I need help getting ready." She demanded. I smiled.

A few minutes later, we came outside to see the girls all singing one of our favorite songs, 'Single Ladies'.

"Supergirl presents Vixen!" I called out. They stopped as once and looked over, scared. I smirked.

"Hand over my child." I said, snapping my fingers. Piper scurried over and handed me my camera. I smiled and turned it towards my face.

"Hi, sorry you had to see that, even though you didn't because I will cut that out later. Anyways, this is Vixen!" I turned the camera towards Hazel, who smiled and waved.

"Kayla, you look amazing!" I told her honestly. She smiled and walked over to Thalia.

"So, I will see you guys in a second!" I said, turning my camera off. I checked the time and realized the boys would be here any minute.

"Guys, prepare to be attacked at any moment!" I called out. They all started to get in their battle positions.

"Thalia, pass me that pillow!"

"Ouch, move your foot!"

"Dude, I can see you're head."

"I can't see anything."

"Hazel can you move that chair?"

DING DONG

We froze. Juniper got up and calmly walked to the door. We all got ready. She opened the door and screamed.

We jumped out to see what happened, but were attacked by silly string.  
"This means war!" Leo shouted as he ran in, spraying Piper with the string. She shrieked and attacked him with pillows. Leo was wearing a skin-tight blue suit, which I guessed was something from the Fantastic Four. Jason jumped through the door, and yelled a battle cry as he tackled Thalia. Batman, who was showing her no mercy, sprayed Juniper. I took a guess and said it was Nico. Percy sprayed Hazel, and I saw a camera in his other hand. Grover attacked Calypso, and she screamed as it went down her shirt. I could hear Grover blushing. Frank came after me. He sprayed it from his bow, and I used my pillow as a shield.

"Hawkeye! No, I'm doomed!" I screamed, laughing. He picked me up, which was easy because he's huge, and ran outside.

"FRANK! PUT ME DOWN!" I yelled. I saw the rest of them bringing the girls out. Piper was a struggle for the scrawny Leo, but it was hysterical seeing her scream, I'll give them that. Thalia was giving Jason a run for his money as she struggled.

They somehow tied us up and lined us up in our front yard. I glared at Frank, who flinched.

"Wow, Alex. Wow. Did you hear me say that I was hoping for a short skirt and try to give me what I wanted?" He asked, making me glare harder. He walked down the line.

"Heather, looking fabulous as always, Jason, stop staring." He said offhandedly. Her head shot towards Jason as he turned beet red.

"Kayla, liking the look." She frowned at his grinning face, as he studied the silly string he placed in her hair.

"Kaitlin! Wow, you should be a model. 'Do you want to wear skintight leather for the rest of your life? Look at model Kaitlin rocking the look!'" He imitated an annoying sales person. And because they have no sense of humor, the Half Bloods laughed. I rolled my eyes.

"That wasn't funny." I deadpanned.

"Yeah yeah…" He moved on.

"Brooke, how did you know Grover loved X-Men? It was like you did this especially for him? You must have copied Alex's idea." He grinned at me.

"Arianna, Leo's has not stopped talking about you! He's been talking about how much you compliment him and love him. Isn't that right deary?" He asked as Leo cackled in the back.

"We'll, girls I love the costumes, 'specially Alex." He winked at me, I growled back. I tested the ropes he tied us up with. Sadly, they were too tight to break. We were stuck. As Percy started rambling about how amazing they were, yada yada yada, I studied their costumes. They matched their personalities fairly well. I saw something behind Jason, who was laughing at Percy's speech that no one else cared about. I searched for something, and saw another movement behind Frank. I watched it and inwardly grinned. I knew what it was.

"… And then we will steal all of your candy along with-AAAHH!" Percy was tackled by a blue mass.

Reyna had arrived.

"STOP!" She yelled. Everyone froze.

"Let them go, and you're special boyfriend won't come to any harm." She watched as Frank and Leo pulled out pocketknives and started releasing us. She kept her hair out of the way as she watched us as we were released.

I grinned at her.

"Thanks Reyna. You look amazing." I told her as she got off of Percy. She grinned back.

"Thanks, 'Beth. You guys ready?" She asked. We all nodded and started to get out stuff for trick-or-treating.

"Did you even listen to my speech?" Percy asked me grinning. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. He laughed.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I insulted you a lot, and you didn't respond at all." He said. I wanted to smack that stupid smirk/grin off his face.

"LETS GET SUGAR HIGH!" Leo yelled as he raced Piper and Jason to the first house.

I pulled my camera out and smiled at it.

"If you haven't watched Percy Jackson's live stream, I suggest you find it after this video and watch it. Then you will know why I want to punch his face." I smiled sarcastically and walked up the steps to the first house. I turned the camera around to see a shocked little girls face as she saw 13 smiling faces.

"You guys are too old." She declared as she gave us candy. I laughed and agreed.

We ended up getting a lot of candy. We even saw Sally Jackson and Paul Blofis. It was a little odd seeing my English teacher handing out candy dressed as William Shakespeare. But he totally recognized me and winked. I blushed and ran to catch up with the others.

Then we reached my house.

Piper put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and we walked up. I expected the house maid to answer the door holding a bowl of candy.

I did not expect my mother in a wheelchair.

"Annabeth!" She cried as my mouth fell open. Tears stung my eyes as I hugged her.

"You're okay!" I sobbed. She rubbed my back soothingly. I let go and she invited everyone in for hot chocolate.

"It's too cold for you all!" she noticed our pink cheeks. I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked around. Everything was the same as I remembered.

"Hazel, oh I love Vixen's costume!" my mother complimented.

"Thank you!" She smiled.

"Percy Jackson! I have heard a lot about you." She said. He smiled gracefully and shook her hand.

"So have I. And don't worry, all good things." He said

"Percy and his gang over there are the ones who brought me to hospital, where that jerk doctor didn't let me see you." I told her. She thanked them for the rest of the time. At the end, I wanted to stay, but she made me continue. I promised to visit later.

The rest of the night was uneventful, until I was in bed and was watching Percy's live stream. I had uploaded my video and was now waiting for views.

I started the video.

"Hey guys!" he smiled to the camera. "So, were going trick-or-treating, and if anyone says were too old, well… just go away. We are still children, if you haven't noticed." He finished with a cheesy smile. "If you can't tell, I'm Green Lantern, Nico is Batman, suits him, doesn't it?" Nico flipped him off in the background. "That's not child appropriate, Nicole. Jason is Superman, which is basically perfect for him." He looked at the comments and laughed.

"Jase, 'Princess Andromeda II' said you look like Captain America." Jason grinned and flashed a thumbs up to the camera.

"Leo is Johnny Storm, or 'The Human Torch'." A hand on his shoulder cut him off.

"Ladies call me Torch." He winked at the camera. Percy laughed and shoved him off.

"What ladies? Calypso's the only girl who can even stand your presence for more than a minute." Leo stuck his tongue out at him like the child he is. He looked at the comments again and smiled.

"Hey Leo." Percy called off camera.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Look at these comments!' he gave to phone to Leo. He squinted.

"Geez, the font's tiny. '_Who's Calypso? She doesn't deserve Leo!_' from imgorgeous." He laughed.

"If anything, I don't deserve her."

"Look below that." Percy said excited.

"'_Someone's a jealous Leo Fan girl!_'" He frowned.

"Read who sent that!" Leo rolled his eyes and checked.

"Ani? Geez, that girl is everywhere! Stop giving out identity away, kid!" He yelled at the camera. She sent a Lol in the comments. I remembered her from the hospital.

Percy moved on.

"Grover is Spider-man…not sure why…" Grover laughed. "And Frank is Hawkeye because of his mad bow skills." Frank blushed. "Frank, don't be ashamed, you're beautiful!"

"Percy, your gay is showing." Nico said. Percy laughed.

"Says you." He called back.

"So, in a few minutes, I will restart the live stream and will see our master plan to take down the Muses!" He waved and the screen went black.

"Are you ready?" Percy's voice said. The camera showed them waiting outside the Muses' house.

"Yeah." Grover rang the bell and stepped back. Juniper answered the door and screamed as she got silly string in the face. The boys attacked them with yells. Hazel was the main focus of the camera, shrieking and covering behind her pillow. He took this opportunity to tie her hands and carry her outside. The girls were plunked down in their yard, one by one. Percy smiled at the camera and turned it towards the girls. He talked about the respective girls, before starting his speech. This time, I listened.

"So, my plan to sabotage you was to say something stupid so Alex would stop listening." The camera turned towards me, as I was looking off into the distance. "And it seemed to have worked." Jason laughed.

"So, Alex. When you watch this later, and I know you will, I just want to apologize for anything I have done or said in the past that made us enemies. I was an idiot blinded by fame and fortune to realize what an amazing person you are, and I hope I didn't ruin our chances for being friends. So, remember, I'm leaving this up to you, I won't be offended if you decide to leave me forever alone. Anyways, you look like you're gonna start listening, so moving on!

"…And then we will steal all of your candy along with-AAAHHH!" The camera showed grass, and a hand covered the lens. For the next minute, all I could hear was muffled speaking. The live stream started again.

"So! Tonight was a success! I got a crap load of candy, and Leo is not coming down from his sugar high anytime soon, and Jason refuses to take off his cape. We will see you next time something important happens! Bye!" The live stream ended. I sat for a moment, pondering what I had just witnessed. I went to sleep without another thought.


	20. Chapter 20

I visited my mother today.

I changed into a light white sweater, jeans, and sneakers, threw my hair up in a ponytail, and made my way downstairs. I saw Piper playing Thalia, Calypso and Reyna in Super Smash Bros.

"Die, Link scum!" Thalia yelled, smashing her controller buttons. She wailed as Reyna cackled in glee.

"Having fun?" I asked smiling. They all nodded and went back to their game.

"Art, I'm leaving!" I yelled up the stairs. I heard a crash and her head poked out her bedroom door.

"Okay, 'Beth. You need to come home early to start a new song. We have an agreement, remember?" She asked. I groaned. Her and her brother had signed a contract about the two bands working together, and now I had to meet with Percy everyday after school. While I was stuck alone with him, the girls get to do stuff with the rest of the band. Lucky them they can actually tolerate them.

"Okay, okay. I shouldn't be more than a few hours." I told her, grabbing my phone, ear buds and walking out the door.

It was a nice walk.

With the wind in my hair, music in my ears, and not a car in sight, I was pretty happy. I counted my steps to the beat of the music.

One, two, three and four. One, two three and four. One and two, three, four. One, two three and four.

Someone grabbed my shoulders. I swung around, and brought my fist with it.

The person caught my punch.

"Whoa!" She yelled, her eyes wide. It was the girl from the hospital.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" I apologized. She grinned.

"No problem. I actually have to thank you, because I need the practice. My dad's teaching me boxing." She explained as I took out my ear buds. "So, should I call you Alex or do you go by another name?" She asked. My mouth fell open.

"You know?" I asked, astonished.

"Hey, I asked a question first!" She reasoned.

"Annabeth, it's my real name. Now how'd you find out?" I demanded. She cracked a smile.

"Annabeth… nice name, it rolls of the tongue." She mused.

"Ani..." I threatened.

"Okay okay!" She said. "Jackson and his gang showed up at the store I work at. He was in disguise at the store, but he said he recognized me from the hospital. I realized it was him, and considering that the Muses and the Half Bloods were spending a lot of time together lately, it sort of made sense." She finished. I shook my head. She checked her watch, and made a face.

"Crap, I have to go. I'll see you Annabeth!" She yelled as she ran off.

"Bye!" I called after her. I continued down my path as I put my ear-buds back in. It took me about 5 minutes to get there.

I rang the doorbell, and it opened to a bored mother.

"What do you want?" She asked grumpily, her eyes half closed.

"Hello!" I said brightly, "Do you want a free membership-tax included-to a nicer greeting to your only daughter?" I asked. Her eyes snapped opened and she smiled wide.

"Annabeth!" She cried, pulling me into a hug. I hugged her back tightly, needing a little motherly love. "Come in! Oh, I've missed you!"

"I just saw you last night!" I told her, laughing. She smiled wider.

"That's too long to go without seeing my baby!" She wheeled her self over to the counter. "Do you want anything? Tea, hot chocolate, coffee, ice cream?" She asked. I shook my head.

"I'm good, mom. How are you? Is it hard to get around now? When will you be out of it?" I asked, gesturing to the metal seat. She looked down sadly.

"A few weeks. I'm fine, and yes, it is a bit troublesome to move around. I had to have Agatha help me up the stairs last night." She forced a smile, which made me frown.

"Mom, are you sure you're okay?" I asked again. She nodded and gestured for me to sit. I obliged and put my phone in my pocket.

"So, I haven't seen the girls in a while. That was nice to see how they have grown. And that Reyna girl seems so nice. She was so grateful when gave her the recipe for Aegis. I thought she was going to cry right then and there!" She exclaimed, mentioning the tea recipe for sleep remedy and improved physical and mental strength.

"Yeah, she was happy." I mused, remembering her shocked face when my mother had mentioned that she wasn't getting enough sleep. I thought her head was going to explode with gratefulness. Reyna had mentioned that she had no mother figure in the family. It must have been nice to have one for a change.

"And that Percy Jackson, dear lord Annabeth! I don't understand why you complain about him so much, he seems like a wonderful boy!" She cried. I rolled my eyes.

"Mom, he laid down his charm on you! You're under the spell! She has become a Half-Blood!" I fake-sobbed. She laughed.

"Annabeth, he was so polite and charming, always using his manners, I can't see why you're not dating him yet! He is perfect for you, very laid back, he can calm you down. You are always so uptight about school, and the fangirls are already shipping you." I sighed and she frowned.

"What? Did I use the right terminology? I thought it was 'shipping'?" She said, her face worried. I laughed.

"No, mom. That was right. But you sound like every single girl that has had a crush on him. 'Oh, he's perfect! He is exactly what my daughter needs! He is my dream guy! I must marry him now!'" I cried out in a falsetto voice. She laughed.

"Oh, Annabeth. Who knows best?" She sang. I groaned.

"Mother." I reluctantly said. She smiled proud.

"I have you trained. I'm so proud." She hugged me again.

"Mom, look. I am an independent young woman, who don't need no man." I said, quoting Tumblr. My mom stared at me for a second, and then, along with me, burst into laughter.

"Oh, Annabeth! You crack me up!" She giggled.

"Oh, mom! I know!" I responded, grinning. We spent the next hour talking about school and work and other boring stuff you wouldn't want to hear about. Around one I left and headed home, only to find the guys playing Just Dance with the girls. Percy wasn't playing, as he was sitting on the couch strumming chords on a guitar. Grover sat next to him, watching the crowd of dancing people, obviously amused. I looked around and saw Nico eating half the pantry.

"Nico, don't touch the Nutter Butters!" I called out to him. Everyone except Grover froze. The game played on in the background as their heads snapped towards me. I raised an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked. Jason stumbled. "Did you do something that would make me regret ever leaving?" I looked around. "Nothing seems to be broken. Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked as the song ended. "It seems like Reyna won, no surprise." I told them. Grover snorted a laugh. Finally, Juniper unfroze and ran a hand through your hair.

"Sorry, 'Beth. We sorta expected to be told to shut up or something."

"Well, you thought wrong." I said. I walked over to the coat hanger and hung up my jacket and keys. Leo whistled.

"Wow, you should go to your moms more often. You're usually much more angry." I rolled my eyes.

"C'mon Jackson. Let's get this over with." I groaned. He watched me carefully, as if I was going to either snap his neck or declare my undying love for him. I hope he didn't expect either, because I wasn't in the mood for either.

"Okay then. Where are we going?" He asked cautiously. The others weren't paying attention anymore, so I decided to freak him out a bit.

"My bedroom." I told him. His eyes widened and he strummed a chord. I winced.

"That sounded like a dying donkey. Jeez, you need to practice." He stared at me.

"You can't just say something like that and change the topic! Jeezus, Annabeth, don't make me so nervous!" He said as he followed me down the stairs into the recording studio. I stopped suddenly and turned around. He was one step behind me, so I backed up a step. Our chests were brushing, and his breath turned quick. I smirked.

"Why would my bedroom make you nervous, Jackson? Did you think of something that would change your actions?" I asked, pressing him up against the stair wall. He gulped. I held in a laugh. "Do I make you nervous?" I ran a hand up his side, and he pushed me back. I let out the laugh.

"You're face!" I tried to steady my breathing. I opened my watery eyes to see a pouting Percy.

"Not fair! You cheated!" He cried. I laughed harder.

"Cheated? How did I cheat?" I asked, holding in another laugh. His pout turned into a grin as he switched our places, me against the wall now. He towered over me as he ran his hand up my back. I made my face a deadpan as I freaked out inside. An attractive singer was pressing his body against mine. I have the right to freak out, okay?

"Does this make you uncomfortable?" He asked, his voice breathy. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"No." I lied. He smirked, and I inwardly cursed, hoping for a better comeback.

"You're lying. You're attracted to me. But I can't blame you. Girls would pay to be stuck in your place." He said cheekily. I snorted.

"You wont crack me, Jackson. Even you…" I paused, getting close in his face. His jaw went from smirking to slack. His eyes went down to my lips. I smirked "… can't play a player." I turned and walked down the rest of the stairs.

_That girl will be the death of me._ Percy thought.

After a moment, he followed me down the stairs. I felt proud that I could leave the world's biggest player in shock.

"So, what shall we work on?" I asked him. He brought out a sheet a paper.

"I had some ideas…" He started.

We went on for a few hours, Percy trying to crack me every so often. It didn't work. I held strong.

Around four, he asked me about the video.

"What about it?" I asked, playing dumb. He snorted.

"You know what, Annabeth. You're the smartest person I know." He said. I glowed with pride.

"Well, Percy. I thought the last three hours answered your question." I said. He smiled brightly.

"Thanks for giving me a second chance, Annabeth. I feel like I owed it to you." He said. I shook my head.

"No no no. There is no way you are getting me all sappy today. No way. You can charm me in any way, but I will not become sappy. " I started, causing him to laugh very hard. I grinned at him.

"I will break you, Annabeth Chase. I will break you!" he cried, tickling me. I squealed and squirmed as he tickled my sides. Of course he knew my weak point.

"Percy, stop!" I shrieked in glee as he wrapped his arms around me, holding me captive.

"Do you want a little or big hug?" He asked as my laughter subsided. I thought about it with heavy breath, and decided.

"Little hug." I told him. He squeezed me slightly, my back pressed to his chest. I scoffed.

"That was wimpy." I told him, turning my head. He shrugged.

"You're the one who wanted a little hug. Medium hug is now an option." He said in a robot voice. I laughed.

"Medium hug, then." I said.

"Medium hug it is." He squeezed me normally, our work forgotten on the table.

"That was better, but it was nothing compared to how hard my mother hugged me last night." I complained. He chuckled.

"Big hug is the only option left." He sang. I basically melted at his voice.

"Fine, big hug." I said. He squeezed the breath out of me. I squeaked.

"Jeezus Percy! Are you trying to kill me?" I gasped. He chortled.

"Sorry, did I hurt you?" he asked, looking concerned. I faked a sob.

"You busted my kidney! I'll never drink again!" I cried. He laughed and sat down, pulling me onto his lap.

"Okay, we need to get back to work." I said. He rolled his eyes and didn't let go.

"Percy, let me go." I told him. He shook his head. I sighed.

"What now, Mr. Computer?" I asked him. He grinned.

"You need a key to escape." He told me. I raised an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked.

"A key. Fortunately, I have one right here!" He held up one hand, an imaginary key in his fist.

"That's stupid. Let me go." I tried to squirm my way out, but found myself unsuccessful.

"That won't work. You will need the key." He said. I glared at him, and he flinched a bit.

"Percy…" I threatened. He grinned at his name.

"Annabeth…" he sang. I sighed.

"Fine." I grabbed for the key, but he moved his hand out of the way. I narrowed my eyes.

"Oh, so it's like that, is it?" I asked. He put on an innocent face.

"Like what?" He asked, his eyes wide like a baby seals. I blinked a few times before coming back to reality. I grabbed again, but he moved it out of reach. We wrestled for a few minutes until I had a brilliant idea.

"C'mon Percy, can I please have it?" I begged. He shook his head, obviously liking my suffering. I turned to look at him, making a pouty face. He blinked, and I saw his hand go slack. Before I could react, he tightened it again.

"Not going to work." He said, his voice slightly shaky. I smirked.

"Yeah, okay." I shifted myself so I was facing him. My legs were bent at the knees, on either side of Percy's. He suddenly looked nervous again.

"C'mon, Percy…" I whispered, moving into phase two of my plan. "You know you're affected." I shifted closer to him, and he squished himself against the couch. I blinked slowly, showing off my eyes. He licked his lips nervously, and glanced at his hand, which was still wrapped around my waist. The fist was going slack, but not enough. I needed it more. I wrapped my hands around his neck. I brought my lips to his ear.

"Percy…" I whispered, and he shivered. His arms tightened around me, and he unknowingly brought the target hand closer to my hands. I moved to the final phase. I brought my lips to his check near his ear, and his jaw went slack along with his hands. In his moment of confusion, I grabbed the 'key' out of his hand, 'unlocked' myself and stood up, spreading my hands triumphantly.

"Hah! I win!" I told him, grinning. He stood up immediately.

"No! Foiled again!" he yelled in a robotic voice. I laughed until my sides hurt with him. We stayed down for another hour until Grover came to fetch Percy, as they had to go. He was surprised to find us laughing as if we were old friends.

"Bye Percy!" I called as he left. He poked his head in.

"Bye Annabeth." He said softly, blowing me a kiss and winking as he pulled his head out the door. I laughed and turned around to find three amazed girls staring at me.

"What?" I asked, ceasing my laughter.

"Since when were you flirting with Percy Jackson?" Reyna asked. I snorted and rolled my eyes. If only they knew.

"And since when were you two on a first name basis?" Piper asked.

"And since when were you two friends?" Hazel asked last, her mouth hanging open. I laughed and gestured for them to sit.

"Did you even listen to his speech yesterday?" They nodded, still staring.

"Sit girls, we have a lot to talk about." I told them, starting my reencounter of the day.


	21. Chapter 21

"This is Halloween, this is Halloween. Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun!" Leo sang as he ran down the stairs. Grover sighed.

"It's actually Thanksgiving." He deadpanned. Leo huffed.

"Well, _sooorry_ for not knowing my holidays." He complained. Jason snorted from the couch, muttering lyrics to a new song that Percy had written yesterday.

"Perce, 'Dirty Work'? Isn't that like-" He was cut off.

"Jase, don't say it. Not with children in the room!" He gestured to the new girl in the corner of the room. She snorted a laugh.

"Please." Ani said, her face showing no emotion. "My pure mind has been poisoned by my friends. It's a sad fact of life that when a young human reaches the age of thirteen, her friends must ruin her life." She stated in a smooth British voice, causing Leo to laugh.

"I like her. Why aren't you here more often?"

She frowned. "Because you just gave me your address this morning. Which I still don't know why."  
"Oh yeah!" Percy stood up. "We need help." He declared. She rolled her eyes.

"With what, getting girlfriends? You're on your own with that. I know you guys more than I know the Muses."

"Wait, whoever said anything about the Muses?" Frank said. She closed her eyes, and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Give me strength."

"You guys are really pathetic. Jason can't stop starting. Jason, we get it. She's pretty. Get over it. Leo is infatuated." She stopped at Percy's confused face. "Overly obsessed." She explained, and he chuckled. She turned back to Leo. "Just kiss her already. She's waiting. If you don't soon, she will. Frank is farther than any of you, Hazel is just going to go to the movies with you soon enough. Grover doesn't need help. Nico's been watching Will from your school. I personally think it's adorable." He blushed and the band's mouths dropped.

"You knew?" they asked.

"No, I just figured it out. I think that the fan girls are rooting for Thalico, which is making me sick because you're cousins, right?" They nodded. "Anyways, who am I missing? Oh. Right. Percy flipping Jackson, you are in deep. Seriously, that live stream thing? God kill me now. You're begging for attention. And a few weeks ago with the hug thing? Oh my god, just kill me. It's ridiculously cute, but just slow down. You become friends, and the next day you're basically dating. You don't want to push her, or she will run. She is a girl who's gonna want you to slowly become her boyfriend. Take things slow, and you will be rewarded." She paused for a second. "Oh yeah, why did you call me here anyways?" She asked.

"We need help cooking." She stared at him for a second, before laughing.

"You…" she gasped, "You need my help with cooking Thanksgiving dinner? That's why you called me away from my house where I was helping my mother cook? I had to argue with my dad so he would let me go! He was so upset that I was leaving to be stuck in a house full of teenage boys that he almost didn't let me leave!" She shook her head.

"So… you won't help us?" Percy asked. She sighed.

"Get out the ingredients. You guys really do need girlfriends." She muttered as they cheered.

I pulled out my phone and saw a text from Ani.

_Help me. I'm dying._

I laughed and put my phone away. I'm sure she could survive a bit longer. I pulled the spoon out and tasted it. It tasted fine, but Juniper shooed me away from the pot. Apparently there wasn't enough lemon. Calypso was cooking a cheesecake, which I was ridiculously excited for. Piper was visiting her Dad, and Hazel went over to visit Nico. Reyna and Thalia went shopping for more food and ingredients. Artemis was helping cook.

"Fine, I guess I'll go visit-" A buzzing of my phone cut me off. I looked down to see a new text from Ani.

_Thank you for sending help. Hazel is a nice touch to my deathbed._

I frowned. If Ani was with Hazel, and Hazel went to… Oh my god.

"Go where Annabeth?" Artemis asked from the stove. I looked up to see her waiting face.

"I'll visit the guys. I think Hazel will die from their hormones." I explained at their horrified faces.

"Annabeth, don't visit the enemy!" Artemis said.

"Spending a lot of time with Percy, haven't you?" Calypso said slyly. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my phone and keys.

"I'll be back." I called as I left the kitchen and walked out the front door.

"Bye!" They answered. I dashed to the car and slammed the key in the ignition. I sped my way over to their house. Then I realized that I was freaking out. I tried to calm my breathing. But thoughts swam in my head. Ani could tell Percy everything. She knows I'm attracted to him, and she easily could tell him. Or, Percy could tell her everything, and she could go straight to the press. She didn't seem to be the type of person to do that, but you never know. I walked calmly to the door and walked inside and was bombarded by…festiveness. I winced as Leo yelled lyrics to one of their songs. Or should I say, Percy's song. It was a new one that we wrote a few weeks, and was a huge hit on the radio. I think he wrote it about an ex he still wasn't over. And no, I'm not jealous.

"You watch me bleed until I can't breath..." He sang. I watched amusedly, until Percy shouted.

"Annabeth!" He grinned.

"Finally!" Ani cried from the oven. She was red-faced and sweaty. "Reinforcements!" She wiped sweat from her brow.

"Annabeth!" The boys said together.

"Annabeth?" Hazel said, coming out a hallway. She smiled.

"Hey, Hazel. I came over to see if you were okay. Ani seemed very frantic for help." I told her, sending a look to Ani. She started to protest, but Percy cut her off.

"Haven't seen you in a while." He said.

"Yep, we totally don't see each other in school." I said offhandedly. He smiled a bit.

"Percy, can I talk to you?" I said, watching Ani smack Leo's hand away from the food. He pouted and she grumbled, "Use that face on your girlfriend, not me." I pulled him into a hallway where they couldn't hear us.

"You know, Annabeth, if you wanted to kiss me you could have done it in the living room." He said cheekily. I rolled my eyes and pulled him down to me. His eyes widened. "Wow, you are serious about this!"

"What did you tell her?" I hissed. He raised an eyebrow.

"What?"  
"Ani, what did you tell her about us?"  
"Nothing… why?" He asked, confused.

"I don't fully trust her." I said honestly. He scoffed.

"Why not? She can be fully trusted. Why are you so paranoid?" He demanded.

"Last time I trusted someone who was a fan they ratted everything to the press, and Thalia was arrested for a night." I growled. He rolled his eyes.

"She's different. She's helping me with a problem that I have." He rubbed the back of his neck. My curiosity spiked.

"What problem?" I asked.

"It's nothing. Just stop worrying. If she turns out to be a traitor, then you can have twice your worry back, guaranteed!" He said. Despite my worry, I cracked a grin.

"Okay. Fine. But I'm taking your word that she wont ruin the holidays." 

Thanksgiving was amazing. We had turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberries and sweet potatoes, apple and pumpkin pie, and vanilla ice cream. It was absolutely delicious.

"Pass the cranberry sauce?"

"Have some more mashed potatoes."

"Can I have a the sweet potatoes?"

"Here you go."

"Who want's more turkey?"

"Me!"

"A toast!" Artemis announced. "To the best band that the world has ever heard."

"Hear hear!" Juniper shouted as we clinked glasses. I took a sip of my apple cider.

"Cheers guys." I said. "Happy Thanksgiving everyone." They repeated the cheer as we finished out meals. We cleaned the table and sat down for dessert, shoveling pie and ice cream into our mouths.

We ended up watching a Harry Potter marathon on ABC. They seem to overly enjoy having Harry Potter marathons. We went to bed late, dreaming of turkeys and stuffing.

I woke up to Thalia jumping on my bed.

"Annie, Annie, Annie. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up." I smacked her to shut her up.

"Stop badgering me." I mumbled, pulling the covers over my head.

"Annabeth!" A scream came from downstairs. I shot out of bed at the sound.

"Oh, so you get up at that but not at me?" Thalia complained as I raced downstairs, her following at my heels.

"Juniper? JUNIPER?" I yelled, calling her. She yelled back an "In here!" from the front door. We sprinted in out pajamas to the door only to find her clutching a magazine. I sighed.

"Jeezus, Juni, I thought you were being murdered!" I sighed. She stared up at me with wild eyes.

"We have a problem." She whispered, sounding horrified.

"What?" I asked, grabbing the magazine. It was slightly wet, due to the rain outside, but the head title showed clear as ever.

INSIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE MUSES!

A picture of Ani and I speaking on the street was on the front cover. An arrow pointed toward Ani, saying that she gave the information.

SHE TOLD US WHAT WE NEEDED TO KNOW. SHE GOT CLOSER THAN EVER BEFORE TO THE MYSTERIOUS AMERICAN SWEETHEARTS!

I flipped furiously to the page to where the article was. I read as they explained that the Muses wear colored contacts, and might be conversing with you in day-to-day life! Ani had smiled brightly as she told them about our affiliations with The Half-Bloods. Luckily, no legal names were mentioned.

I sank to the floor.

"I was right! I knew I shouldn't have trusted her! She was a spy for the press!" I shoved the magazine into my face, mumbling curses and hate comments that I have seen in my videos and live streams.

"Annabeth, what happened?" Thalia asked quietly, taking the magazine from my hands. I stood up as her mouth dropped open. She crushed the magazine in her hands.

"But I trusted her." She cried.

"So did I." I growled, shoving past the two terrified girls. "But that obviously has changed."

I pulled my jacket closer as I rubbed my eye. Contacts suck. I walked up the driveway with Percy, Jason, and Piper. Piper was here to confront her with me, and the boys were to hold us back from killing her.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have trusted her. Or made you." He had apologized beforehand.

"It's not your fault, Percy. She had fooled everyone." I sighed. "I just wish it wasn't her. She was so…"  
"Cool. Chill. Happy, positive, lightening the room as she walked in? I know." He said unenthusiastically.

I rang the doorbell, and heard a huge bark. I actually jumped back a step.

"Roxy! NO!" A small voice yelled. The door opened to a little girl with dark hair and eyes that I recognized from my dream. Her skin was as tan as mine.

"Hi?" she said.  
"Hi, are you Tia?" I asked sweetly.

"Yeah? Who are you?"  
"I'm Alex, this is Heather, and these guys are Percy and Jason. Can we speak to Ani, please?" She nodded and let us in. I looked around, and couldn't help but admire the architecture. It made the house feel cozy.

"ANI!" She screamed up the stairs. Percy winced.

"She's my big sister. She's writing stories right now, and she's really popular in one story!" She said excitedly. I couldn't help but smile. It was obvious that she adored her sister, even though you could tell they got on each other's nerves. Ani appeared at the top of the stairs, and smiled brightly.

"Hey guys! Sorry if she annoyed you."  
"Oh, it's fine, traitor." I growled. She narrowed her eyes.

"Tia. Go upstairs." When she didn't oblige, she glared at her.

She huffed. "Fine." She stomped up the stairs.

"Let's go out to the front." She said, looking a little suspicious. We stood on the balcony, watching the rain for a second, before she spoke.

"Can you please specify what I did to become a traitor in your opinion?" She asked, not looking at our faces.

"This." I held the magazine out and she took it. She looked it over, and her eyes narrowed even more.

"What is this? Where'd they get this picture? What's going on?" She finally looked up.

"You did this. Why?" I demanded.

"You-You think I did this?" She laughed slightly, but it had no humor in it.  
"It said you did it." I told her, glaring slightly. Percy moved closer.

"I can't even believe that you would even think for a second that I would do this. First of all, did you even see the signs that this is a fake?" I raised an eyebrow, slightly curious now.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Okay, kids, sit down. Here is a little lesson on how to determine fake and real."  
We sat on the chairs and she stood in front of us. She started pacing.

"Did you notice what magazine it is?" she asked.

"Tell Us More. Why?" Piper asked.

"Tell Us More is notorious for it's articles for being scams. They stalk their topics, find who they are hanging out with, and scour for a person who will give them a story. They took the picture of us, and blamed me because I was an easy target. Second, did you even read what I had said?" she asked. I nodded. She smiled slightly. "Not enough, obviously. Look at how many times 'I' had said the word 'Like'. Seriously, when do I say that? I actually wrote a paper for the school newspaper last year on why you shouldn't use that word as often as we do." She said, pointing out the many 'like's. "So, by the looks of it, your actually offender here is someone…Popular in school. Or when I say popular, I mean 'Cliquey'. Someone who dresses up and wears clown amounts of makeup and heels to school. You would notice that they use that word often." She finished.

"How do you know that you didn't set this up?" I asked.

"Because you know me more than I know you. I have basically told you everything I know. I'm very talkative if you haven't noticed." She grinned cheekily. I laughed along with Piper.

"Okay okay. But who would know all this?" I asked. She shrugged.

"That's for me not to know and for you find out." She said. Then she frowned.

"Why did you two come?" She pointed to the guys with the magazine.

"Um… for moral support?" Piper said unconvincingly. She gave her a look and Piper sighed.

"No, to hold us back. Annabeth and I were pretty upset this morning. Sorry, they came to keep us from not killing you." She winced. Ani laughed.

"You guys are great. I hope you believe me when I say, I would never tell them anything unless they threatened me about my family. Then I would probably tell them what they want to know." She said. We smiled.

"Okay, Ani. Thanks. Sorry for jumping to conclusions." We high-fived.

"See you Ani." Piper called.

"See you, Heather." She winked and pointed to a Paparazzi hiding in the bushes. She grabbed him and yanked him around the house.

"I have a feeling he will regret trespassing on their property." Jason said, smiling.

"I think so too." Percy said. We got into the car and drove home.

For some reason, Percy and Jason followed us inside. We gave them questioning looks, but the just smiled cheekily, so we went along with it.

"Wait." Piper said before we opened the door.

"What?"  
"Jason, we need to talk." She dragged him around the corner of the wraparound porch, and we watched them go.

"What do you think they'll get up to?" Percy asked.

"Not sure my brain want's to be poisoned by imagining that." I said, unlocking the door. I pushed it open to see…no one.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, straining my ears to hear something. I heard music and dragged Percy downstairs, not before I left a note for Piper to tell her where we went. We reached the bottom of the stairs to see the girls practicing one of the new songs. A pre-recording of me was singing the lyrics. I hummed along, waiting or them to notice us.

"When do you think they will notice us?" I whispered to him.

"No idea." He whispered back, watching them rock out. Thalia strummed chords like no one else was there. Calypso smashed the drums, and Juniper played guitar in Piper's place.

They finished a song, and were about to start another, when Percy's patience wore out.

"Ahem." He coughed. They froze and looked at us.

"How long have you been there?" Thalia coughed.

"Um, from about 'But really I would rather be at home all by my self, not in this room with people who don't even care about my well being'." I sang.

"Nice pitch." Percy praised. I shoved his shoulder.

"Um, so how'd it sound?" Juniper asked. I recalled what they just played.

"Well, at 'I'll be here, oh oh oh, here' Caly was a bit heavy on drums, and at ' What am I doing here?' I may have to slow down a bit." I ticked them off. "But besides that, I think were good." I clapped my hands together. "Let's get to work." They started to set up Piper and my equipment. Percy crashed on the couch, and got comfortable. He would be here for a while.

After a run-through, Percy's hands had obtained the maximum limit of blisters. Luckily, having him around had its uses. The girls giggled and bowed stupidly. He made them very giddy, with his whistling and standing ovations. I rolled my eyes, but smiled nonetheless. His theatrics made them practice harder than ever before.

"…Can't wait 'till we can break up out of here." I finished. Percy whistled and cheered as the girls giggled at his charm.

"Thank you, Percy." I said dryly. He smiled widely.

"Girls, you can head up. Well done." They broke up and headed up the stairs, chatting about some science project. I walked over to Percy, who was smiling so wide I thought his mouth would break.

"Why are you smiling so much?" I asked. He just smiled and picked me up. I squealed as he spun me around.

"What?" I demanded.

"You guys! That's what!" He yelled. I made a face.

"What about us?" I asked. He imitated ripping his hair out.  
"Annabeth, you guys are absolutely amazing! You're such an amazing singer! I don't know how I became famous when you existed! Annabeth, you are so ridiculously amazing, I think you really should be given an award for being the best singer ever." He finished with a deep breath.

"An award? As if. You guys are so much better. I strive to be as good as you guys are. It is my dream to become more famous than The Half-Bloods." I finished.

"Are you joking? You already are more famous! You got number one on Billboard last week! You really are incredible." His praises made me blush.

"Percy, stop kidding yourself. You will always be better." I deadpanned. He groaned.

"First of all, can you just take a compliment?" He asked.

"Thank you." I said honestly. He nodded, sort of satisfied.

"Second, Jeezus Annabeth, I have always dreamed of meeting you, and look at us! We're acting like a flipping old married couple!" I blushed at that statement.

"Thanks for calling me old." I told him.

He moaned. "For God's sakes. Girls are too sensitive. Why do I even try?" he asked the sky. I snorted.

"C'mon Mr. I-don't-understand-women. Let's check on Jasper." I dragged him upstairs. I seemed to be dragging him around a lot lately. I literally ran into Piper when I opened the door.

"Percy, leave. Jason's waiting for you." She said breathlessly. I noticed her disheveled appearance, and quickly understood.

"No…Flipping…Way." I said.

"Bye girls!" Percy called as he left.

"Bye!" they called. Percy blew a kiss and winked, something that I could see becoming a habit.

"Did you-?"

"Yes!"

"And did he-?"  
"Yes! Yes!"  
"And you two-"  
"Yes! Yes! Yes! It's happening!" she squealed.

"What's happening?" Hazel asked.

Piper was about to respond, but I beat her to it.

"Piper's pregnant!" I nearly screamed. Hazel dropped what she was holding.

"No!" Piper scolded. Hazel picked up the empty cup and blushed furiously. "I kissed Jason. We're dating!" She told her. This time, the cup broke.


	22. Chapter 22

**This chapter is loosely based off of A Star Vs. The Forces of Evil's Blood Moon Ball episode. **

"A Winter Ball?" I asked, ripping off the poster from the wall. Calypso looked over my shoulder. The poster was purple and blue, with two silhouettes of a dancing couple. Her lip curled.

"Hah, we'll have fun getting dates. Maybe I'll get desperate and pop in those contacts." She laughed without humor. I rolled my eyes and put the poster back.  
"Did you see the news?" Frank came up behind us. I smiled. Frank was always so sweet. He was perfect for Hazel.

"Yeah, 'Young girl admits her info was a scam'. Now we just need to find out who figured out or secret." I said. He smiled and started to talk to Calypso about some project in English. I glanced back at the poster and saw some contact information at the bottom. A phone number and email. I was about to call, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. This time, I didn't throw a punch, but I turned around normally. Luke grinned at my smile.

"Hey, Annabeth." He said smoothly. I looked up at his happy face and wondered how I could have ever hated him.

"Uh, hey Luke. What's up?" I asked.

"You saw my poster?" he gestured behind me. My eyes widened.

"This is yours?" I took the poster off the wall. He watched it.

"Yeah, my father is throwing a business party tomorrow night. A lot of people think it's for the school. But no. Are you thinking of going? Because if you are, would you like to be my date." he asked hopefully. I hesitated. Which wasn't good.

A hand slammed into me. I was shoved into the wall as a body separated him and I. I opened my eyes and saw a head of black hair.

"Stay back!" 'My hero' growled. My eyes widened impossibly, and I sucked in a breath.

"Percy!" I yelled. Luke suddenly became ridiculously angry.

"Jackson." He snarled.

"Annabeth, I thought we didn't like him…" Percy warned, turning his head slightly towards me.

"Percy, no! We're fine! We're friends now." I looked at Luke pointedly.

"Nice to, uh, meet you, Percy." Luke said awkwardly. They shook hands. Well, Luke shook Percy's hand.

"What is he doing here?" He hissed to me.

"He want's to take me to his father's Winter Ball tomorrow." I said hesitantly. Percy stared at me.

"Annabeth, never go with someone who assaulted you to a second location." He told me, looking me in the eyes. Luke walked around him.

"Annabeth, it's perfectly fine if you don't want to go. Just, if you change your mind, call this number." He took a pen out and wrote some digits on my hand. I stared at them.

"Call this number and a chauffer will come and take you to the location. I hope I see you there, Annabeth." He walked away, the poster in his hand. I watched him go.

Later that day, I finally snapped.

"Percy, that's enough." I cut off his rant. He looked down at me.

"What?" He asked.

"Stop complaining about it. Your input probably wont sway my decision." I told him. He blinked.

"What are you trying to say?" He asked.

"I don't want to hear you complain until tomorrow night. Let me enjoy my Thursday." He sighed but obeyed my command.

The next day, everyone was talking about how prestigious this ball was going to be. No one was being allowed in, except people with connections. Apparently, I have connections.

"Annabeth, why are you invited and not the rest of us?" Thalia whined. I shrugged.

"Don't know. Maybe he wants to learn all the Half-Bloods secrets, but thinks they are too obnoxious to do it himself?" I said sarcastically.

"Probably." Piper said. Ever since they started dating, her and Jason had become very cheerful. Luckily, they weren't inseparable. We still saw Piper often, besides at home. They were very affectionate at times, and we made fun off them behind their backs. Just don't tell her.

"Annabeth, are you going to go?" Hazel asked. I thought about it for a second.

"I think I am." I said finally. She smiled.

"Smart choice." Said a voice from behind me. I turned around from my locker to see Luke. He smiled at me.

"I'll see you tonight." He walked off. Thalia whistled quietly.

"Well, I'll admit. He may be a pretty jock, but he has a sweet-"

"Thalia, just don't." I cut her off. She laughed.

"So, your going to be home alone tonight, because were meeting the guys for a paintball war. But Piper will probably be busy making out with Jason to care about the game." Thalia said. Piper and Hazel blushed.

"Hazel needs to get a boyfriends so she's not so nervous about dating." I declared. "Ask Zhang out already." She blushed even more.

"Annabeth, stop!" She cried nervously. We laughed, trying to not hurt her feelings. I don't think it worked.

"You're making a mistake, 'Beth." Percy said from my couch. I skimmed through my dresses. I stopped on a pretty lilac ball gown. I grabbed the dress, a pair of heels, and my hair supplies.

"I probably am. But hey, it might be fun!" I went into the bathroom. "Don't look, I'm gonna change." He turned his head, blocking it with a tuxedo top hat. I will be honest, not many can pull of that look, but he can.

"I just don't want you, I don't know, dying or something." He said as I pulled the dress over my head.

"Please. I will not die at a winter business ball. It's not like our souls will be intertwined or anything." I said, pulling my heels on. My foot stuck into the open doors view, and I saw Percy hid his face again.

"Why don't you stay here? We have fun by ourselves." He tried to reason.

"This is different. And it will be fun. I haven't been to a ball in a while." I said.

"I don't trust Luke. He basically sexually harassed you, and then suddenly you're friends. Maybe I should come with you." He said suddenly.

"Percy, you weren't invited. You can't just show up. I feel like I need to do this for myself. Wherever I go, I'm always with the girls. I need to be alone for once OW!" I yelled in pain.

"You alright?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said in shock. "Totally fine." I breathed out and blinked a few times. "I just think I yanked out half of my hair." I finished up my bun and moved onto my jewelry and makeup.

"Look, what I'm trying to say is, guys that act like Luke, they never change. They always are like abusive, because that's how they are raised." He said, peering past his hat.

"You sound like you've had experience." I said, curious. He didn't answer. "Anyways, I will only learn my lesson by going." I stepped out of the bathroom. "How do I look?" I asked. He put down his hat, and his eyes popped out of his head. His face went slack.

"Wow, Annabeth. You're incredible." He said, not looking away. The dress was slimming until my hips, where it poofed out to my knees. I had silver heels, and a matching necklace, bracelet, and earrings. My hair was piled into a fancy bun on my head, with two curly strands framing my face. I had light makeup on, that made my lips dark pink and my eyes pop.

"Thanks, Percy!" I said cheerily. He held is hat in front of his chest.

"What will I do without you here?" He asked desperately.

"I don't know. Just stay out of the girls and my clothes. Help yourself to food, the TV, the recording studio, and your car." I ticked things off my hand. I grabbed the house phone and dialed the number that I had written down.

"Don't leave me alone." He whispered.

"So totally leaving you." I whispered back as I hit 'Call'.

"Chauffer service, what is your address?" A smooth voice answered. I told him what he needed to know.

"We should be there in five minutes." He hung up.

"Just call me if you need me. But I will not come home because you are lonely. Only in dire emergencies." I told him as he whined.

"But Annabeth!" he cried. I shook my head.

"Sorry, Percy. No buts except mine leaving the house." I said.

"Annabeth?" He asked.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Can I make nachos and eat them in your room?"

I let out a breath. "Sure Percy. Knock yourself out."

"So where's Art?" He asked. I shrugged.

"No idea."  
"Okay, but just remember. 'I'm only one call away. I'll be there to save the day. Superman got nothing on me. I'm only one call away'." He serenaded me as I made my way downstairs. I laughed and grabbed my pouch that had my phone, keys, and backup makeup. I grabbed my fur jacket and glanced out the window. Just in time too, as the limo pulled up.

"Okay Perce, I'm leaving." I walked to the door. He followed me out. I got in the car and called out to the chauffer.

"I'm ready when you are, Sir."

"Yes mam. I'll let you say goodbye." He waited patiently. I turned towards the pouting seal.

" Just let me come for the ride." He persisted, as I shoved him away from the car.

"Goodbye Percy." I sang. "See you after the Winter Ball." I shut the door. The driver pulled away, leaving him standing at the side of the road.

"What now?" Percy asked himself as he walked back up the driveway. He walked into the kitchen and pulled out the Nacho supplies. He had to thank Leo later for teaching him how to make them.

The chauffer pulled up at a large house where people piled into the doorway. I stepped out and was immediately asked for my coat. I gave it to the nice man and walked inside. Luke and a man who I assumed was his father were greeting guests. Luke noticed me and smiled widely. I smiled slightly back.

"Annabeth Chase, you look wonderful!" He complimented smoothly. He wore a black tie and tux.

"Um, so do you, Luke." He smiled wider.

"I got you something." He presented a corsage. He placed it around my wrist, and I winced as it pricked me slightly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I haven't ever done this." He apologized. He lightly grabbed my hand and introduced me to certain people. Some of them I had meet before, and the winked as they recognized me.

Percy sat on her couch, with the TV blaring 'Top Gear'. He munched on Nachos, making a mess.

"I'll have my own winter ball. In Annabeth's bedroom. Where guys want to spend a night, and I just want to watch TV with her." He spoke through a mouth full of chips and cheese.

"Cow!" James May yelled on screen. Percy munched on more chips. He was chewing so loudly he almost missed when a rough voice spoke. A man (well, it _looked_ like a man) appeared on screen for almost a millisecond. He was wearing a white racing suit, fully equip with even a helmet with a blue visor. His head moved slightly to imply that he was speaking under the helmet.

"Blue Moon tonight." The screen changed back to Jeremy cracking up as a bull rammed James' car.

Percy's mouth dropped open. It happened again, he almost missed again.

"The moon of release." Percy stared as the Stig spoke. The actually Stig was speaking. He sat there for a good five minutes before his brain started to work.

"Release. Release of what?" He glanced up at the moon, which had a slight bluish tint to it. He suspected it would increase in blue as the night went on. He thought about release.

"What do I have to release? My growing feelings for her? My suspicion that something bad will happen tonight? My deep hatred for Luke? Maybe my doubt that I should stay home and not go?" He realized as soon as he spoke the words what he was implying. He paced back and forth.

"She will get really upset. He will be furious. Wait, that's a good thing. Maybe I can go in disguise. Maybe, I don't know. A mask? Do I have a mask?" He stopped pacing and talking as his eyes found the paper.

"That. I will take that." He grabbed it and his keys as he ran to his car.

"Smile." Said a cheery guy at the camera. The couple in front of us grinned widely and was sprayed with a sea colored liquid from both sides. They squealed in delight as the picture was taken. "Beautiful!" He cried. "Next!" Luke pulled me up to the platform.

"I am so excited to be covered in blue with you." He said. I made a face and he laughed. "Don't worry, it's not like, Unicorn's blood or anything. Its just water with blue dye."

"Um, Luke, I'm not sure I want to ruin my dress." He scoffed jokingly.

"C'mon, I'll pay for dry cleaning and everything. It'll be fun!" he pushed.

"I'm sorry Luke, my mother got this for me. I don't want to ruin it." He let out a breath.

"Look, I'm sure there are plenty of girls here that would love to take a picture with you. Why don't you try them?" I suggested, stepping off the platform. He growled quietly, but not softly enough, because I still heard it. _Maybe Percy was right,_ I thought. _Guys like him don't change._

I went to get a drink, praying to everyone I knew that it wasn't spiked. Luckily, it tasted fine.

"Oh, look. You must be Luke's date." Said a male voice from behind me. I turned around and my first thought was. Wow. Big head.

The man had a big nose, big ears, a big chin, big cheeks and a loud mouth. Only his eyes weren't large. They were normal sized, so on his head, they were considered small.

"I guess I am." I said reluctantly, shrugging.

"Well I hope you're enjoying yourself. He made this entire ball boring and useless. Only for you." He yelled with a nasally voice.

"I wouldn't say it's boring." I reasoned. He cut me off.

"Oh, c'mon. He usually has exotic dancers, and gorgeous waitresses, and the newest DJ's. But he made it all low key for you." He walked away, complaining and moaning to everyone he saw. His friend that stood next to him hadn't taken his eyes off of me, and finally spoke.

"You wanna dance?" He asked in a deep voice that matched his deep coffee skin. Luke finally appeared, and put his hand calmly on my shoulder, cutting me off.

"Her dance card is full." He said. The nameless guy rolled his eyes.

"Oh, you think you two will be the couple picked tonight? Have fun with that." He said, walking off.

"What's he talking about?" I asked. Luke was about to answer, but a microphone cut him off.

"Good evening everybody." Luke's father said. I believe his name was Hermes.

"I would like to direct your attention to the ceiling." I looked up to see a glass circle that slightly represented the moon, in the middle of the room.

"At exactly twelve o clock, the moon will shine directly overhead. It will send it's holy light forth, through the glass. The light will fall on a special couple, and they will be 'bonded' for the rest of their lives. We will commemorate this couple on the wall," he gestured to the left, and I saw picture after picture of couples. Some were happy, other's not.

"These couples ended up being connected until they sadly lost their lives to age. Now, focus your attention to the hypnotic, turquoise beam." He finished, giving Luke a look. He straightened proudly.

"Woah." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. A song started playing, and Luke growled.

"That is not right. No way am I letting them get away with this. Don't go anywhere, I'll be back." He jogged off to the left, while I started to move to get a better view of the glass as it started to fill with blue light. I thought I heard my name being called quietly, but I ignored it, too hypnotized by the light. I continued walking until I was directly under it, and my hand was grabbed. I expected Luke. I did not expect a masked stranger and I to be showered in blue light. But I did expect the many gasps of the crowd. The lights shut off, and the moon was the main source of light.

The stranger pulled me in close and we started to dance. His face was covered with an intricate mask. It covered a full side of his face, circled the uncovered eye, and left his left lips and cheek open. His eyes showed, but in the light I couldn't make out the color. I guessed blue because that's what I saw. His mask was silver on the full side, but a bright blue on the short side. The blue and silver swirled together to create a less sudden change in color. He wore a tuxedo and a short top hat to match. It covered his hair, which could have been gray for all I knew. His gaze made my shocked face turn into a little smile. His left lips smiled slightly too.

"Annabeth…" he called softly. I was too entranced to notice Luke snarling at the edge of the audience.

"W-how'd you know my name?" I asked, sounding drunk, when really I actually had trouble forming words. He was just too amazing to make me really care.

"It's me!" He whispered excitedly. He lifted his mask for a second, and his face showed. "Percy!" I gasped softly, suddenly horrified.

"Percy?" I asked him as he spun me away. Someone in the audience gave me a confused look, but I smiled back. "What are you doing here?" I hissed.

"Busting you out of here! This place sucks!" he whispered back. Suddenly I was shoved back as Luke smashed Percy to the ground. He hit his head, and I cried out. Luke looked up as the light slowly disappeared, as the moon left the alignment. The lights were turned back on, and I winced at the sudden brightness of it all. Luke looked so angry his eyes might have well started to glow.

"You!" Luke shouted. "That dance…" His voice slowly grew from a whisper into a scream. "…Was meant…" He walked toward Percy, who was clutching his head. Luckily, his hat was still on, so Luke didn't recognize him. "…For ME!" He screamed. I decided to intervene before it became an all out war.

I step forward, and pinched the main nerve in his neck. He dropped like a shot deer. I watched him fall with no pity. My face was full of disappointment as I slumped past Percy.

"Let's go, Jackson." He looked at Luke, and scrambled after me, keeping his hat on. Sadly, as we walked out, someone snapped a picture of us for the wall.

I stepped out of the Limo, Percy following suit. He still had his hat and mask on. I walked over to the Chauffer's window, gave him a tip, and thanked him for bringing us home.

"Anytime, miss." He said as he stepped on the gas. I stomped up he driveway. I walked inside and stood on my bedroom balcony.

"So flipping infuriating." I grumbled, as Percy came up behind me. I leaned my forearms against the railing and looked out into the city.

"Sorry to say it, but I warned you about Luke." He said, standing a few steps behind me. I straightened.

"No, you! You're the infuriating one! All I did was try to have a normal night, but you had to come and mess everything up! I was fine without your heroics! I know you were trying to help me, but I could have figured out what to do without you. I could have watched someone else have that dance, someone who would fall in love with her partner. I would feel grateful that they were so happy. But you took that away from them." I said, huffing. He didn't answer, just leaned against the railing next to me, him facing the opposite direction I did.

"I'm sorry I ruined your night, Annabeth. I should have trusted you to have fun on your own." He apologized, taking his mask off. He looked down at his feet. I turned around.

"Hey, it wasn't a complete waste of my time." I said, sparking his curiosity. He looked up at me. "Now I know that you dance better than me." I said, swiping his hat off and placing it on my head. His hair was messier than ever. We both chuckled and said "Hat hair." Our eyes widened.

"That was creepy!" We said together. Our mouths dropped open, and we both cried out each other's names at the same time.

"Annabeth!"

"Percy!" I shoved my hand over his mouth, and he did the same to me. We both stood there, breathing heavily. He took his hand off my mouth and I did the same.

"Well, that was odd." I said finally. He laughed slightly.

"Yeah, pretty weird." We both gazed up at the Blue Moon.

"So what was significant about that moon light anyways?" Percy asked suddenly. My head snapped toward him. He danced with me, and Hermes had said… Oh god.

"Oh nothing. Just that our souls are 'binded' for the rest of our lives. Oooooooooh." I said spookily. He laughed.

"I'm guessing that's an old legend." He said chuckling. I laughed nervously, thinking about all of those couples that died, their lives still connected at their deathbed.

"Yeah, an old legend." I repeated, not meeting his eyes. Luckily, he didn't notice my odd behavior.

"Annabeth, do you know how often you look out for other people?" He asked me suddenly. I shook my head.

"What do you mean?" I asked. He laughed.

"I mean, Luke expected to be dancing with you tonight, and you probably were going too, but all you could think about was how happy the couple that was pick would be. You didn't stop thinking about others, even if it meant stopping your happiness." He finished. I was in shock for a second, but then met his eyes.

"Thank you, Percy. That was nice of you." I gratefully replied.

"I just can't believe no one has ever noticed it before. You're always putting the girls and guys first. Thanks for that. It means a lot." He smiled at me.

"Do you have any Nachos left?" I asked, my head tilting. He nodded.

"Let's eat, I'm starving." I said, walking into my room. He stood at the balcony, watching me go.

_Oh yeah,_ he thought. _This crush won't be going away anytime soon._

**I DON'T OWN STAR VS. THE FORCES OF EVIL, OR ANY QUOTES THAT I USED IN THIS CHAPTER! SORRY IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE IT, BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS GOOD! HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL MY AMERICAN READERS! HAPPY NORMAL THURSDAY TO THE REST OF YOU AMAZING PEOPLE!**


	23. Chapter 23

"Percy!" Sally Jackson called. Percy groaned and sat up.

"What?" He called roughly down the stairs. He heard muffled talking and opened his eyes.

"A friend is here to see you!" She said. He threw off his covers and stomped down the stairs. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. When he opened them, he immediately wished he had changed.

"Hey, Percy!" OH NO OH NO OH NO! Annabeth waved to him from the couch. She smiled at his attire.

"Nice P.J.'s Perce, very fashionable." She laughed. Sally laughed from the kitchen as she made pancakes.

"Ha ha ha." He deadpanned, blushing slightly. He wore Finding Nemo pants and a shirt that read, _I washed up like this._

"How about we go upstairs and get some supplies, for our project. That is why you're here, right?" He asked. She raised an eyebrow but nodded.

"Yeah, our P.E. project." She finished. He made a face.

"Keep that door open, Percy. I may need you to do a few things." She winked from the counter. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. C'mon Annabeth." He walked upstairs, Annabeth following suit. They reached his bedroom and Annabeth immediately shut the door. He was about to question her actions, when she slapped him. Hard.

"Ow! What the heck was that for?" he whisper yelled.  
"You told your mom?" she questioned him. He shook his head.

"Paul must've. He recognized you on Halloween." He told her. She sighed.

"Okay, sorry for slapping you." She said.

"P.E. project?" Percy asked, walking to his dresser. He pulled out a shirt and pants, and started to change. He didn't notice Annabeth's lingering glances to his torso and biceps.

"Yeah, Jason mentioned that you had started self defense classes. I thought it would work."

"Jason told you?" He asked. She nodded.

"Well, he told Piper, and Piper told me. So you all are joining? Even Grover?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Not Grover, but yeah, the rest of us are. Maybe the girls want to take it with us?" He asked hopefully. She laughed and opened the door.

"No, they'd destroy you. We started to take them from day one. Calypso and Juniper dropped out after a while, pacifists." She scoffed. "We're in more danger, being women. Since we started, boys and girls have jumped us. We got away with some scratches, but afterwards we were fine. Here, look." She turned around, and lifted her shirt a bit. Easily seen on her tan skin, was a scar that went down from her left shoulder blade to her right hip. Percy's eyes widened, approaching her. His fingers skimmed the thin line across her tan back. She shivered.

"That's the worst one." She explained, glancing over her shoulder at him. He looked at her.

"How'd it happen?" He asked softly.

"Some guy at the Michigan State Fair this year. Piper's got one on her leg, and Hazel on her shoulder. Two beefy guys with pocketknives. The three of us were filling our water bottles after we had spoken with Piper's mom, Aphrodite, the designer." She looked at him and he nodded. "It was just after a show, and we were all really hot. We went to fill our waters, when some scrawny kid with a weedy voice told us to stop. He wore a hood, so we didn't see his face. But he ordered us to, and I quote, 'Lay down your weapons'. We had nothing on us. We didn't know what he wanted. Then he retreated into the shadows and the guys attacked us. We fought back, but it wasn't enough. Hazel was cut near a main artery; she was close to bleeding out. I told Piper to run, and take Hazel with her. She did, and I was able to take them down. I called the police and passed out afterwards. They got the two guys, but not the scrawny one." She finished. Percy was silent.

"That's why you were in the hospital afterwards?" He asked, not meeting her eyes. She nodded, watching him for a reaction. She put her shirt down and turned toward him.

"You knew?" She asked. He nodded reluctantly.

"It was all over the news. I went to visit you in the hospital, but you were asleep. Remember those lilies?" He asked. Her jaw dropped.

"That was you?" She asked, astonished. He nodded.

"Thanks, Percy, um. If I knew they were from you, we probably could have been friends long ago." He smiled at her. She smiled hesitantly back.

"So, are you ready?" She asked him.

"For what?" he looked at her quizzically.

"For the best day of your life!" she said sarcastically. "No, we're going to the mall. Where's your bathroom?" She asked. He pointed her down the hallway. He went downstairs to wait for her, and she returned with brown eyes. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word. She grabbed her phone and bag and headed out with them. When they arrived at the mall, Percy grabbed a baseball cap and shoved it on his head. She gave a small laugh and jumped out of the car, humming a melody. He followed her like a lost puppy.

"Why are we here again?" he asked, watching her smile and wave to a girl whose mouth fell open.

"Because Art and Apollo think we need publicity, and the best way to get it is to bounce off each other." She answered. "Oh, take that hat off." She whipped it off his head, and his hands immediately grabbed at his head.

"Hey!" He complained.

"Oh hush." She said, smiling. She grabbed his hand and dragged him inside. They dashed around for a while, gazing at store windows, signing items shoved into their face. Annabeth picked a few presents out for the girls.

"Where's the A-Force team?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Piper's out with Juniper and Thalia, and Hazel ran off with Calypso. So I was alone with Art, who then decided to go visit my mother. So I came to your house." She told him. He nodded.

"Where are the boys?" she asked.

"I don't know or care." He said as she stopped.

"I want to go to the book store." She said.

"Okay, if you need me, I'll be in the store across from it." He said. About to head off, she grabbed his arm, causing a few people to go "Awe."

"I don't think we should split up. I don't want to be attacked by wanting guys." She said. He stared at her. She was nervous. Of course she was, she had never been here before. New York was different from San Francisco.

"Don't worry, Annabeth! Remember, I'm only one, call away." He started to sing, causing her to blush and girls to start screaming. He swung her around. "I'll be there to save, the day. Superman got nothing on me. I'm only one call away. Call me baby, if you need a friend." He spun her around, both at arms length away. A girl whooped, and he smiled. "I just want to give you love. C'mon, c'mon, c'mon. Reaching out to you so take a chance." He pulled her in, and they started to rotate. "No matter where you go." He gestured to the bookstore, and she smiled, looking down from embarrassment. "Know you're not alone, I'm only one call away. I'll be there to save, the day. Superman got nothing on me. I'm only one call away." He finished. The circle of people around them clapped and hollered, as they pulled apart.

"I wish he did that to me!" A girl said wistfully, her friends nodding and sighing.

"She's so hot!" A guy yelled out.

"She deserves better." One jealous guy said.

"I'll take him off your hands." One girl offered helpfully. Annabeth laughed.

"No need. I'm keeping him." She said, giving him a noogie. An arm wrapped around Percy's shoulder, and a head snuck its way in between Annabeth's and his.  
"Hey, kids, what'cha up to today? Serenading each other with love songs? Announcing your unrequited love for each other?" Ani asked, laughing.

"I knew I heard you!" Annabeth yelled out. "You were the one who kept telling us to kiss!" She said. Ani only laughed harder.

"Yep! I'm sorta disappointed that you didn't. I was expecting for you two to just announce your marriage right then and there."

"Ani, there's a sale at Hollister!" A girl yelled. She glanced back.

"Be right there!" She called. She turned back to them. "I'll see you two later." She ran off, catching up with her friends.

"She's weird." He said, watching her go.

"Yeah, but she's cool." Annabeth countered. He caught her glancing at the bookstore.

"You want to go?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Nah. The bookstore can wait." She intertwined her arm with his and they set off down the hall.

**Hey Guys! So should I do a Christmas chapter or skip it and go back to school? Let me know, because your input really helps me change the story to your liking. I really do love it when you tell me what you think of the story, it keeps me writing. I just want you all to know how grateful I am to know that I have people to support me, and it really means a lot to me. I feel like I don't let you guys know how much all of your support means to me. SO… Thank you and trust me, this story wont end, I will finish it off and won't leave you with a cliffhanger at the end. Love you guys; see you in the next chapter!**


	24. Chapter 24

_**Christmas Eve**_

"Make it like your birthday, everyday!" Leo cried out as he flung the door open, letting snow (THAT IM NOT GETTING *CRIES*! WE HAD A WHITE CHRISTMAS LAST YEAR, WHY NOT THIS YEAR? *CRIES SOME MORE*) in from the frosty outside. Grover stared at him.

"How do you manage to get every holiday wrong?" He asked, astonished. Leo grinned.

"It's a gift."

"Leo! Did you get her present?" Jason asked suddenly, rushing in from the hall. He pretended to think about it.

"Well, I showed up, but the guy working there said he had already sold it, and-."

"Leo, you idiot, give the man his ring." Grover said. Leo sighed, but handed over the box. Jason opened it and sighed. It was still there, her birthstone sitting in the middle of an intricate silver band.

"Thank god, it came out perfectly." He ran a hand across his face.

"Of course it did. Beckendorf never disappoints." Leo shot him with a finger gun and disappeared up the stairs.

"What did you get Juniper?" Jason asked, collapsing on the couch next to Grover. He looked up from his catalog.

"I'm deciding between a visit to her sisters in Montana or going on a hike upstate. They have some nice mountains." He told him.

"Wow, that sounds awesome." Jason whistled.

"How's Piper?" Grover asked. Jason grinned.

"Amazing. Our relationship… it's exactly what I wanted. She's perfect. She's funny and kind and strong and powerful and beautiful without trying. She's exactly what I need right now. And she always makes my day. She knows exactly how to make me happy, and I'm giving her the ring because I want her to know I feel best around her. Here, look at this." He pulled the box out and opened it, carefully taking it out of the box. He handed it to Grover.

Grover stared down at the intricately carved writing.

"What is this?" He asked, entranced. Jason smiled.

"It's Cherokee. Piper mentioned she knew how to read and speak it, so I put it on her ring so she and only she would know what it said."

"What does it say?"  
"It says: I am not the best, but I promise I will love you with all my heart." He smiled.

"Dude. That's deep." Grover's eyes widened.

"I'm deep!" He said, offended.

"Not really." Nico said, coming in the room.

"Shut up Nicole." Jason rolled his eyes.

"We agreed that you wouldn't call me that." He deadpanned. Jason shrugged.

"Sorry, but it's not going away anytime soon."

"You gonna ask Will out?" Grover asked. Nico sighed.

"Ask that again you'll find yourself dead tonight."  
"Sorry to be of annoyance." Grover grumbled. He stood and walked into the kitchen. He grabbed the Cheetos, only to have Nico snatch them out of his hand.

"C'mon dude." He groaned. Nico happily munched on the corn-snacks. Frank entered the room.

"Where's Apollo?" He asked, looking around.

"Probably prancing around in his Halloween costume." Nico said through a full mouth.

Jason laughed. "He's in the studio with Percy. Might not want to bother them. Their fangirling about Annabeth."

"Not surprised. I'm not even sure he knows he's in love with her. He just is like 'I don't like Annabeth! I don't have a box of her pictures under my bed'!" Grover said. "It's probably gonna take them five years to get together, honestly. They are both oblivious to the obvious."

"Yeah, I'll probably just stay up here." Frank decided.

Thundering footsteps from the staircase caused the group to look up. Leo skipped the last three steps and grabbed his jacket and hat.

"Jason! We have to go! No time to explain!" He yelled. Jason leapt off the couch.

"What's wrong?" He asked instantly.

"Buford's missing!" he yelled as he ran out the door. Jason ran to get his coat, not letting his friend get into trouble without him.

"Who's Buford?" Grover asked, confused.

"His table." Jason asked, dashing out the door.

"Leo names his furniture?" Frank called to him as he left. No answer.

"C'mon, Frank. Buford is probably something mechanical, knowing Leo." Nico said.

Frank nodded. "Yeah, you're right." He headed back upstairs.

"I can't believe you lost him." Piper said, jumping in the car, slamming the door shut.

"Well, I don't watch him 24/7. Sorry. I guess the tracker I put in his drawer isn't working." Leo knocked his phone against the dashboard. He looked at it and sighed.

"Okay, the reception is fuzzy, but he is somewhere in the Cashmare Woods. Let's go." He told Jason, who started the car.

"Aren't the Cashmare Woods filled with those crazy God-Worshipers that burn people who don't 'Party with them'?" Piper asked nervously from the backseat.

"Don't worry Pipes. They are no match for this!" Leo brought out a pistol from his large jacket pocket. Piper's eyes widened.

"Why do you have a gun?" She asked.

"It's just a pellet gun, but it shoots bullets filled with Chloroform.

"You have a gun filled with chloroform? Are you insane?"

"Relax. It explodes on impact so they can breath it in. They should be out long enough for us to get out. I have one for you two too." He said, pulling out two more pellet guns.

"Does it hurt?" Jason asked.

"No, it's painless. Just aim close to the face so they can breath it in. I only have a limited amount of bullets. So get ready."

"Well this is a great Christmas Eve already. I expected to spend time with my family, not go on a wild table chase." Piper muttered. Leo gave her an apologetic glance.

"Sorry, Pipes. You know I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't need you." He said.

"Yeah yeah." She said, mumbling song lyrics under her breath.

"I'm covering my ears like a kid. When your words mean nothing, I go la la la. I'm turning up the volume when you speak. 'Cause if my heart can't stop it, I'll find a way to block it, I go. La la, la la la la la na na na na na." Percy finished the recording. Apollo clapped from the other side of the glass.

"Percy, that was amazing. I just have one request. I need a girl to be background. It adds layers, makes it sound good." He requested. Percy nodded.

"Also, I need to tune the voice a bit, so just sit tight and-." He was cut short by a hand coming down on a table.

"Apollo, we discussed this. No auto tune. I like natural voices. Auto tune sounds fake, and ruins our rep as a 'No auto tune band'." Percy demanded.

"Fine. Whatever. Just don't expect great results." He stalked off.

Percy sighed. He pulled out his phone and text Annabeth.

_Bored, making a video, I want Alex to guest star bring the contacts if you can. Apollo and Art said they have something to discuss with the two of us. We can talk to them after._

A few minutes later he got a reply.

_**Okay ill be there in a few, stopping at moms for a sec. what do they need to talk to us about?**_

_Not sure, but it sounded important, its probabbly a pub stunt, not important_

_**Okay see u**_

_Cya_

He shoved his phone into his pocket and went to set up his camera. He decided to do it in his room; he cleaned up beforehand.

He clicked onto a new recording.

"Hey everyone watching this ridiculously crappy video, and welcome to an interview with Alexandra DiMaggio, who is currently not here yet. I'll stall though.

"I guess you have noticed that I haven't put a video up lately, and that's because I'm actually going to school. Yes, I'm serious. You need to close your open mouths. Guys, you're drooling… Ew." He cringed at the camera.

"Says you, Percy, You're the one who drools in your sleep." Nico said off camera. He flipped him off.

"Sorry, not child appropriate. My bad." He apologized.

"Anyways, THB is coming out with a new album soon, and if you were at the Joint Mall this weekend, you heard a sneak preview of a song called 'One call away'." He grinned, probably causing many girls to swoon. "That was quite a performance, if I do say so myself." He said. Annabeth jumped on the bed beside him. Her brown eyes didn't fit her appearance, but he pretended that they did.

"Of course you thought so. The girls watching were about to jump on you. In fact, one did." She winked at the camera, probably causing many guys to groan.

"That kid is insane." He said, remembering the brown haired maniac who is always finding them.

"Why am I here again?" She asked, laughing. He threw an arm around her shoulder.

"We are doing a Q&amp;A with questions from the viewers." He said, and then frowned.

"You forgot to tweet that, didn't you?" She mused. He nodded and she laughed, mussing his hair up.

"I've got it, don't worry." She said, pulling out her phone.

"You see guys?" He said, guesting the camera to her. "This is why I keep her around."  
"Yeah, that and for other reasons." She laughed. He pouted. She leaned into his touch, and almost dropped her buzzing phone from fright.

"Holy crap!" She said, catching it at the last second.

"Nice reflexes." He complimented. She shrugged.

"Could be quicker. First tweet is by Roar-goes-the-Dinosaur. 'Are you two doing any songs together?" she looked at the camera.

"Yeah, we have a few duets together on the new album I told you about." Percy said. "She sounds amazing."

"Shut up, and you sound better." She said, shoving his shoulder. He was pushed away, but he bounced back, wrapping his arms around her. She laughed, squirming her way out. He pouted again.

"Next question is by Kennabug864. Hey Kenna!" She waved. "She asked 'What did you get Percy for Christmas'?" She smirked. "Well, I can answer that question." Percy looked at her excitedly.

"He and you all will figure out tomorrow." She lent over to him and whispered something in his ear. He chuckled.

"I'll try not to."

"Next question! This one's from Alternative_Dream." She smiled. "Nice name. They said 'Are you two doing a secret Santa?" She looked at Percy.

"Not that I know of, but that's a great idea! Holy crap, why didn't I think of this?" She cursed herself. He squeezed her shoulder.

"You can't think of everything, Wise Girl." He said, referencing an old nickname. She smiled.

"Okay, Seaweed Brain." She teased. He frowned. "Next Question is from IamaGuest. They said 'Where's the mistletoe and why aren't you two standing...underneath." They both blushed.

"Next Question." She cleared her throat. "Is from LOL, and she said 'Are you guys going to do a live stream performance tomorrow for Christmas? We would love it if you did!" Annabeth pretended to think.

"I don't know Percy… Do you think we should?" She pondered. He caught on, thankfully, and tapped his chin.

"Well, did they make the nice list? Are the comment sections nice? If not, I don't see a reason too…" He trailed off. She smirked.

"We will check our comments from our recent videos. If we find at least 20 hate comments on each video, no performance. Sorry, but I like to keep my comments a peaceful place. Even if it means bribing."

Percy nodded along. She turned her attention back to the phone.

"This last question is from PrincessAndromedaII. It says 'Did you guys finish your Christmas shopping yet? I have a feeling Percy didn't." Annabeth laughed, but then quieted at Percy's shameful face.

"You didn't finish, did you?" She asked. He shook his head. She face palmed.

"Okay, well thank you all for watching this video. Hit that high note, break that glass, and leave a like if you enjoyed. See you later." She said, and reached for the camera despite Percy's protests. She hit the off button and dragged him out of the room.

"I can't believe you didn't finish your shopping. It's Christmas Eve! You need to wrap them, and sign them, and put a bow on them. Let's go to the mall." She dragged him to the car, only to find a beat-up Jason, Piper, and Leo grinning at the door, a table next to them.

"What the heck happened to you?" Percy asked.

"We found Buford!" Leo cheered. Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"Who?" She asked. The table moved, and she took a step back, knocking into Percy.

"What the actual f-." Percy swore. Annabeth stared.

"Is that thing alive?" She asked, astonished. The table puffed a little smoke from a small smokestack and waddled on its three legs, walking inside like he owned the place. They watched him as he made his way upstairs.

"This is some Star Wars crap if I've ever seen it." Percy stated. Leo laughed.

"Yeah, Beckendorf and I made him at Bunker Nine. He's my assistant. He helps around the store, and soon, I'm gonna program him to help around the house." He walked in, breathing out a sigh. Piper dragged Jason in, shutting the door behind them. Annabeth stared at the wreath on the outside of the door.

"That was insane." Percy stated. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well so is the fact that you haven't finished Christmas shopping."

"Yeah, I also think its crazy how many times the Author has to write the word Christmas. I'm surprised she hasn't gone insane yet. But hey, it's just the way the world works."

"C'mon Percy. Let's go." Annabeth said, tearing her brown-eyed gaze away from the door. They walked to the car.

"How about this?" He held up a necklace. She looked at it and shook her head.

"Percy, I can't believe you didn't shop for your own mom yet. And you don't even know her type of style. She is into more simplistic things. Nothing big or flashy. Something small and intricately beautiful."

"Jeez, it's like you know her better than I do." He grinned. She shook her head again and kept looking.

"Perce how's this?" She held up two earrings that were skinny, curving downward slowly, and carved with a pretty shiny stone.

"Perfect." He breathed. She smiled. They went to checkout.

"Well, we wasted three hours, I have gotten about 30 million texts from Apollo asking where we were, and I think I'm broke, but it was worth it." He said, flashing a grin to the stunned girl at the register.

"Yeah, your mom will be thrilled that you kept all your Christmas shopping to the last minute." She said, signing a paper the girl handed her. She gave the pen to Percy.

"An-Alex, can you go away so I can buy your present?" He asked, quickly changing names. She raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, I'll be outside." She walked out as Percy dashed over to the jewelry section, picking out a necklace he saw her fawning over.

"Back again, are we?' The girl at the register flirted, coming out of her daze.

"This is for my girlfriend, do you think she'll like it?" He asked, causing her to frown.

"Yeah, whatever." She slammed the receipt down. He hurried out of there, people calling his name.

"Ready?" She asked as he found her. He nodded breathlessly. She led him out of the mall.

"What do we do now?" He asked. She raised an eyebrow.

"Have you ever done this before?" She asked. He shrugged.

"It's not a guy thing to do, so no." He said.

"We wrap them. Duh." She climbed into the car. He nodded.

"Then we deliver them, right?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yep."

"Christmas is here, Christmas is here, Christmas is here." Percy sang as they finished off wrapping the last present.

"Finally." Annabeth sighed, collapsing in her chair. Percy did the same.

"Finally." He repeated. They both sat in a comfortable silence for a while.

"Percy?" Annabeth said after a while.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Did we ever talk to Art and Apollo?"

Percy sighed.

"No." he said. He got up slowly, and then helped Annabeth up.

"Let's go find the insane twins." He said reluctantly. They both slumped into the living room, where the twins were arguing. They watched until Apollo was slapped.

"Whoa, Artemis! Chill out!" Annabeth said. Their heads snapped toward them immediately.

"Where the heck have you two been?" Artemis snarled.

"Well, if you two had stopped arguing for a second, you would notice that for the past five minutes we were standing right here, casually watching you two fight." Annabeth yawned and stretched, accidentally hitting Percy in the face.

"Sorry," She mumbled. They both collapsed on the couch.

"Where were you two for the past five hours?" Apollo asked, rubbing his face.

"Making a live stream, Christmas shopping, and wrapping presents. You?" Percy asked.

"Searching for you two." Artemis sighed.

"What did you guys need, anyways?" Annabeth asked.

"We need you two to go public." Apollo declared. Percy looked confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Annabeth looked at them.

"Both of your publicity numbers are dropping. You two need fame right now. Both of your albums come out soon, and sales are dropping." Artemis started.

"What are you saying, Art…?" Annabeth asked.

"What I'm saying is…we need you two to act like a couple when in public, because the world needs to think you're dating." Artemis said. Their mouths dropped open.

"You want us to do what now?" Annabeth choked.

"I'm not happy with it either, but if you want to get more sales on that new album, we need to tell the world that 'Percabeth'," Artemis held up a magazine with 'PERCABETH!' sprawled on the cover. "Is a thing." She finished.

"You expect us to just go with it?" Percy asked, sort of astonished.

"Yes. Because both of you need it. Now, I have to leave. I need to talk to Hephaestus Inc. about my Golden Girl warranty." Apollo strode out of the room.

Artemis rubbed a hand across her face.

"Basically, you don't need to kiss or make out publically. But hug, hold hands, kiss on the check, answer couple questions, that sort of thing. Eventually, if everything works out as planed, you will be kissing. So be prepared." She said.

She handed them both contracts to sign, to make this official.

"Are you sure you can do this?" She asked them. They both shook their heads.

"No." Annabeth said, but she signed anyways. Percy did the same. Artemis nodded, taking the papers back.

"I hope you both realize that this is for your careers." She gave them one last glance, and left. They now sat in an uncomfortable silence.

"Merry Christmas to us." Percy muttered. Annabeth nodded in agreement.

Percy stood.

"And on that interesting note, I'm going to my mom's. Want to come?" He held a hand out to her. She hesitated, but took it.

They decided to bare the cold and walk. They passed many parks filled with children making snowmen and forts, chucking snowballs at each other. Percy had stopped and watched at one.

"We should join in." He said. Annabeth grinned.

"That's your best idea yet." They both ran, slowly, I should mention, through the snow. They were immediately hit.

"NO!" Percy wailed, falling to his knees. "FOILED AGAIN!" He pulled Annabeth down with him.

"Alex…" He whispered. She looked at him, her face full of delight.

"Avenge me." He said. She laughed, and pulled him up, still being hit full force.

"No Percy! You can't leave me!" She cried. The little ones laughed at their horrible acting.

They played for a while, getting thumbs up from some parents on the sidelines. The kids loved it. They even gave them hugs when they had to leave.

One parent took off her scarf and tried to hand it to them. She was shivering, but she smiled, showing her thankfulness. They thankfully declined.

"Thank you, but we just wanted to make them happy. Keep your scarf, please." Annabeth said, giving the blue, scratchy, poorly made, hand stitched fabric back. She pulled out her wallet and handed her a fifty-dollar bill. The woman clutched the money like it was a crown. She started to tear up.

"I can't thank you enough. My kids weren't going to get any presents this year, but now..." She hugged them both, and when she wasn't looking, Percy slipped her a one hundred. Annabeth smiled at him, a tear running down her cheek.

They left shortly after that, making sure to say goodbye to the children.

"Oh my god, I'm tearing up." Annabeth said, wiping a tear away. Percy smiled down at her, and grabbed her hand.

"No need. They're going to be fine. But my mom is expecting us, so even though we did a good deed, we can't do anymore when we're dead." They continued walking, oblivious to the photographer who captured the entire thirty minutes on camera.

"Mom! I'm home!" Percy called as he entered the small apartment. Sally Jackson appeared in front of them, a large smile on her face.

"You're late!" She cried, pulling them into a hug. They took of their snow covered jackets and hats, entering the cozy house. Blue cookies sat on a plate, which Percy dashed to immediately.

"Oh, Annabeth. It's been too long!" She said, offering her a cookie. Annabeth took it gratefully, laughing.

"Sally, I saw you last week!" She said, nibbling on the cookie.

"That's too long for me, dear. Percy, don't get sick." She told her son, who was on his fourth cookie.

"Mom, you cant put cookies out and not expect me to get sick." He reasoned, mouth full.

"Oh hush." She said, smiling. They continued talking, but were soon interrupted by a kid.

"Tyson!" Percy yelled, picking up the small kid. He giggled and hugged him. Annabeth gasped. She hadn't seen him since they were at Piper's house. Even though in that dream… No. Don't think about it.

"Hey, Tyson!" She smiled. He grinned happily, and gave her a hug.

"Wow, Percy, look how much he's grown!" She said. Sally watched on, smiling slightly.

"You're going to be a great mother, Annabeth!" She said.

"Thanks Sally. Though I'll never be as good as you." She complimented.

"Thank you dear. I have some dinner idea's to bounce off you two though…"  
They spent the next hour and a half at Sally's, eating and exchanging stories. Around five, guests started to arrive, and Annabeth had to leave for her mother's.

"I have to go." She thanked Sally for having her.

"Oh, it's no problem, Alex." She winked. "I simply love having you over!" She hugged her, and Percy walked her out.

"Bye, Annie." He hugged her.

"See you tomorrow?" She asked hopefully. He chuckled in her ear.

"Yeah, but the twins will have our butts if we don't act like a couple. I'll see you tomorrow, 'Beth." He didn't let go.

"Bye Percy," She pulled back. Percy smiled, and then glanced up at a green plant hanging from the ceiling.

"Mistletoe." Annabeth whispered quietly. Their eyes met, and Percy started, slowly, to move in. She put her finger on his lips.

"Whoa, cowboy." She laughed breathily. He whimpered. "Next time." She walked out the door, pulling her jacket on her shoulders.

"Mom! I'm home!" She called as she stepped in the door. Malcolm appeared in the hallway.

"Annabeth!" He hugged her. She grinned.

"Been a while, brother." She laughed.

"Yes, a whole two days since I saw you at lunch." He shoved her shoulder. They walked into the kitchen, when Athena was leaning on a counter, sprinkling powdered sugar on a cake.

"Annabeth! You're finally here!" She cried, rushing forward. She held her.

"Hi, mom. Sorry, I was helping Sally Jackson with her dinner. I hope Malcolm helped you." She said, smirking at her brother, who smiled proudly.

"Yes, he did. Your brother was an amazing help, but it's time you be of help. Can you set the table while we bring out the food?" She asked. Annabeth nodded and started working.

"Mom, that was amazing." Annabeth said, wiping her mouth. She smiled happily.

"Thank you, 'Beth. Let's clean up and open presents!" She cheered. They did what can be described as the quickest clean up in history.

"I go first!" Malcolm yelled, racing to the presents.

"Oh, no you don't!" She yelled, dashing over to the tree. They both crashed into each other, laughing.

"Are you two alright?" Athena called, appearing next to them. Malcolm helped Annabeth up.

"Yeah, mom. We're fine." He said. Annabeth frowned.

"Yeah, you're not the one who was stuck under a fat teenage boy." She sassed. He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Stop it, both of you." Athena said sternly. They both fell silence. She continued. "And, besides. I'm opening my present first." She grabbed one off of her pile, causing both her kids to complain.

"Oh, hush. It's not like either of you were going anywhere with that conversation." She laughed. Annabeth shrugged.

"She has a point. I wouldn't have backed off, and neither would you." She sat down on the couch, watching her mother open her present.

"Oh, Malcolm, it's gorgeous!" She cried, holding a light and dark gray heavy shawl. She wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Oh, wow. That's actually beautiful." Annabeth said honestly. Malcolm smirked.

"Of course it is."

Annabeth crashed on her bed. She was exhausted from the entire day. Athena insisted she sleep here tonight instead of driving back home in the dark. She missed the pillows and sheets from this room, and soon fell asleep.

**OMG LONG CHAPTER! WOW, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE IDEAS AND REVIEWS! I HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER, AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS ONE! THE NEXT CHAPTER IS CHRISTMAS DAY!**

**CREDIT TO:  
IamaGuest**

**PrincessAndromedaII**

**And Everyone else that reviewed and favorite the story. Seriously, it doesn't matter if you like or hate this story, you make a difference in how I write and how often I upload. Thank you.**


	25. Chapter 25

_Annabeth_

Holy Crap. 2016. It doesn't sound right, I'll be honest. It sounds like a fantasy, something of a dream, a million miles away. But it wasn't. It was tonight. At twelve. And nothing was going right.

Let's start by going through my day so far.

I woke up.

Ate an uneventful breakfast.

Was immediately pushed to the ground by a screaming Thalia. Apparently Nico asked Will to the party tonight. Sadly, it was too early for me to care.

Picked out my outfit for the party later. It was a blue, halter dress with an opening right at the top of my ribs, in between my breasts. It was, sadly, very short, and I had gold heels and a golden bracelet to go with it.

I took a shower.

I had a sandwich, then choked on my sandwich when Piper said that she was guest bringing Ani to the party. That would get interesting.

Piper had a frantic conversation with Ani on the phone, and I watched, very amused.

Ani agreed and they went dress shopping. Apparently she wasn't prepared for this.

Hazel needs help with her outfit. She's wearing a golden dress, and it's missing a full length sleeve. It reaches her upper thigh, and it's sparkly. It's slimming and looks great on her. I don't see an issue.

Oh. She wants to impress someone. I wonder who.

I've figured out who it is. Don't tell Hazel.

I told her. She hit me and blushed.

Ani showed up

"Hey, guys! We're back!" Piper called. Ani walked in.

"Wow! This place is amazing." She said, impressed. She looked around for a minute while Piper brought out the dress. It was very suiting to Ani's personality. It was a creamy tan, and the top was covered in turquoise lace, scattered everywhere, slowly making its way down the skirt. It completely disappears around the hip area. The straps are spaghetti, and the dress stopped around the mid thigh. It's pleated at the waist, and had a V shaped neckline.

"That's gorgeous! It's perfect for her! Did she pick it out?" I asked.

"Ha! She wanted to wear pants! I convinced her to pick a dress." Piper laughed.

"Hey, don't knock my style! If you guys weren't used to dressing up, you'd be wearing sweats too!" She defended. We giggled.

"Okay! It's three? The party starts at seven. We have four hours. What now?" Piper asked.

"Let's eat! I'm hungry!" I said. Ani started to complain.

"It starts at seven? I'll never survive! I go to sleep at, like, nine! I'll be asleep!" She said. We looked at her.

"Have you ever been to a party and watched the ball drop?" I asked.

"Nope! Never. I was home once, when I was like, seven. I always watched it the next morning." She said, shrugging. We shared a glance.

"We'll make sure you stay up. Who's your celebrity crush?"

"You," she joked. Hazel blanched.

"What?" She asked, her voice faint. We laughed.

"I'm kidding. Andrew Garfield. He's amazing. And he's a great actor. And hot. He was a perfect Spiderman too…" She trailed off, imagining… something.  
"Yeah, anyone else?" I asked, smirking. She shrugged.

"Most of them are at least 10 years older than I am, so no." She said. "I only like Andrew because of how young they made him look."

"Not even JB? Charlie Puth? Sean Mendez?" Piper pushed. She made a face.

"Justin Bieber? Really? Did you just ask that question?"

Piper laughed. "Okay okay. Not JB. But the others?" She leaned forward. Ani shrugged.

"Look. I'm happy being single." She laughed.

"No one is happy single!" Piper cried. We both looked at her.

"What about me?" I asked. She laughed pathetically.

"Annabeth, you're practically married to Percy. And I'm sure Ani has her fair share of guys pining after her at school." She said. Ani fell into hysterics.

"You… You have no idea what it's like at… at my school." She cackled, wiping a tear from her face.

"What? Are you considered weird or something? I can see that." I mused. She smacked my arm, which immediately stung. "Ow."

"That didn't hurt. And guys at my school avoid me like the plague. the only ones that talk to me are the nerdy ones who make inappropriate science pickup lines. Which reminds me-." I smashed a hand over her mouth.

"No inappropriate stuff in here. This is a pure house." I said loudly. She raised an eyebrow and pried my hands off her mouth.

"I was going to say I have a science project I need to finish. Can I do it here for the next ," she checked her phone. "Three hours? I have my phone." She raised it up. I nodded. She opened it and the doorbell rang.

"Not it!" Piper and I both yelled. Ani looked at us with a confused face.

"Well, I don't live here, so unless you have no problem with it, I'm not getting it." She said. I gestured to the door, and she stood.

"Hey!" She said, her face momentarily surprised.

"I didn't know you were coming, Ani." Reyna appeared inside.

"Hey Reyna! What's up?" I asked, standing.

"Not the Ball." She joked. She held a back, that I suspected held a dress and accessories.

"What's in the bag?" Thalia asked, coming down the stairs.

"My dress, shoes and other stuff. Thanks for inviting me." She said. I nodded.

"No problem. Hey, didn't you mention that you knew when the guys were going to give us their presents? It's almost a new year. I would like my Christmas present before it's 2016." I asked Piper. She nodded.

"Yeah, tonight. I'm sorta excited. I have his present upstairs." She pointed to the stairs.

"Cool. So girls, if it fits, put it in your purse. I'm going to do...something." I said, walking up the stairs.

"Oh my god this dress is tight." Piper breathed.

"Be quiet. At least yours isn't shorter than your underwear." Reyna snapped. Her purple dress stopped upper thigh, was sleeveless and a halter. The dress on Piper's body was a black off the shoulder, covered in lace, slimming to the upper thigh.

"At least you won't trip over yours." Calypso said from the bathroom, where she was curling her hair. Her dress a nude turtleneck with no sleeves, slimming until the upper thigh, where it became looser. The slit on the left side was more of a cutout where almost the entire left leg was open. The right leg was covered until it reached the ground. It was perfect for her.

"Be quiet all of you. I'm sort of upset that Juni's not here to experience this torture with us, though." I said as Thalia zipped me up. Thals was wearing a black dress that reached her mid thigh, was three quarter length sleeves, with black tights and heels. It was sparkly.

"Help!" Ani called, as she fell over from across the room. Reyna hauled her to her feet.

"Thanks. This is horrible. How can you guys stand it?" She asked. We all shrugged.

"My manager lets me wear normal clothes most of the time." Reyna said. That's right. I forgot Reyna was an actress. It's hard to remember all these things, okay?"

"I don't get out much." Calypso said.

"And I don't wear normal clothes." Thalia pointed out. We all laughed.

"I usually wear normal clothes." Piper said, and I nodded in agreement. I heard a scream from the other room and my eyes widened.

"I've got it." Ani said, kicking off her heels and running to the other room. We waited a second until we heard a crash and a thud. I flinched.

"You guys okay?" I called out to Ani and Hazel. No response.

"I think-."

"Yeah, probably-."

"Good idea." We all hurried over to Hazel's room. She sat on her bed, pressed up against the wall, while Ani was breathing heavily in the middle of the room, blood on her hands. The window was open.

"What happened?" I cried, a blast of cold air hitting me in the face. Hazel took a shaky breath while Ani stared at her hands.

"There was… a guy. A paparazzi at the window. I screamed and backed up. Ani came in, and… And punched him in the face. His nose started to bleed. And he… He fell." She said, with a finality that can't be matched. I walked to the window. There was no one there.

"He seems to be.. gone. I guess. Did he walk away?" I asked. there was no answer for a second.

"No. He had help. There was a van parked on the street. Stupid reporters." Ani said, finally looking up from her hands. "I'm going to call my parents, tell them what happened. If they get sued suddenly, I don't want it to be a surprise." She left the room.

"Hazel, are you okay?" I asked softly. She nodded and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just… shocked. Ani knew exactly what to do. I just… froze up. I took those defense classes, and I apparently didn't learn anything from them." She said, steadying her breathing.

Piper rubbed her shoulder.

"It's okay, Hazel. We need to leave soon, anyways. Let's get you dressed." Hazel stood, and grabbed her dress. I watched her cautiously.

"I'm fine, Annabeth. Just a little shaken up. We have to go soon. Go get ready." She said. I nodded and left.

Basically, these were our outfits:

My hair was slightly wavy, a new look for me, and with gold heels and jewelry added I looked ready to go. I added light makeup for effect. search?q=new+years+eve+dresses&amp;biw=1574&amp;bih=834&amp;espv=2&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;sqi=2&amp;ved=0ahUKEwi3nbmUwJjKAhWKXh4KHQuwDZ4Q_AUIBygC#tbm=isch&amp;q=new+years+eve+dresses+for+juniors&amp;imgrc=0tAX6rs2LtFR3M%3A

Hazel was nervous about wearing heels, but once she was comfortable, she added black jewelry and a clutch. Her eyes reflected my dress.  search?q=new+years+eve+dresses&amp;rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS503US503&amp;espv=2&amp;biw=1574&amp;bih=820&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiNqv3m35PKAhWI7hoKHeWnDfkQ_AUIBygC#tbm=isch&amp;q=new+years+eve+dresses+for+juniors+gold&amp;imgrc=JYtHKnqTOPchxM%3A

Piper looked fantastic, even if her dress was the simplest of all. She grabbed her gift to Jason and was out the door in an instant. Her eyes were the same color as Hazel's hair.  search?q=new+years+eve+dresses&amp;rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS503US503&amp;espv=2&amp;biw=1574&amp;bih=820&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiNqv3m35PKAhWI7hoKHeWnDfkQ_AUIBygC#tbm=isch&amp;q=new+years+eve+dresses+for+juniors+black+short&amp;imgrc=gXH9ftQbLGGFdM%3A

Reyna looked like a movie star, which, I guess, she was. The dress fit her skin tone perfectly, and we curled her hair.  search?q=tan+maxi+new+years+dresses&amp;rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS503US503&amp;espv=2&amp;biw=1574&amp;bih=834&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjai_CsyJjKAhVMJx4KHRP_B1gQ_AUIBygC#tbm=isch&amp;q=short+dresses+for+new+years+eve+purple&amp;imgrc=lTW9mMlOvo1ebM%3A

Thalia looked graceful, yet still ready to slap a witch. She added a turquoise highlight to her already wild hair. Her green eyes were similar to Juniper's.  search?q=new+years+eve+dresses&amp;rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS503US503&amp;espv=2&amp;biw=1574&amp;bih=820&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiNqv3m35PKAhWI7hoKHeWnDfkQ_AUIBygC#tbm=isch&amp;q=+new+years+dresses&amp;imgrc=duAXoXORe7hoaM%3A

Calypso looked like a goddess. With her hair flowing down her back, she was the most graceful of us all. Her eyes were the color of Percy's hair.  search?q=tan+maxi+new+years+dresses&amp;rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS503US503&amp;espv=2&amp;biw=1574&amp;bih=834&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjai_CsyJjKAhVMJx4KHRP_B1gQ_AUIBygC#tbm=isch&amp;q=slit+maxi+new+years+dresses+tan&amp;imgrc=3bnlMb_vDPqKnM%3A

And then there's Ani. Oh, innocent, naive little Ani. She had no idea how fabulous she looked. Her hair was more voluminous than ever, and was swept to one side. She was still falling over a lot, though.  search?q=new+years+eve+dresses+for+juniors&amp;rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS503US503&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiRiZb5ypjKAhUHdh4KHVEVDcgQ_AUICCgC&amp;biw=1574&amp;bih=834#imgrc=Yuy83R_7On_6tM%3A

"Thanks, John." I called to our chauffer. He nodded and went to park.

"Let's get this party started!" Thalia called, her green eyes gleaming. I rubbed my eye slightly, trying not to knock the contact out.

"Sarah's great to host a party like this. It's going to be awesome." Piper said. I smiled. Sarah was a great hostess, and I was excited to get inside. Her parties are legendary.

"I'm going to be trampled in there. Can I stay outside?" Ani asked hopefully. I shook my head.

"Nope." I opened the door to a blast of noise. We hurried inside, escaping the cold. The house was full of sound, music, laughing, singing, shoes stepping, shouting. Multi colored lights swerved around the walls, and a DJ stood at the back of the room. People held glasses filled with alcohol and purses. I waved to a few people as they walked by. Ani's mouth dropped.

"Holy crap. I'm going to die." She said over the blaring music.

"Girls!" She threw her arms around us. "So glad you could make it! Come in, and try not to drink too much alcohol. You know how these parties go." She winked. We laughed.

"Reyna! Is that you? It's been too long! And who's this?" She asked, gesturing to Ani. She smiled brightly.

"I'm Ani. Nice to meet you, Ms McKinley. I'm a big fan of your movies." She said politely. Sarah put a hand on her chest dramatically.

"Oh, dear! So polite! And so pretty! Make yourself at home, and don't do anything you wouldn't do in front of your parents." She chided, running off, crying: "Jeffrey?"

"Wow, she was… Something." Ani said.

"What movies have you seen of hers?" I asked curious. She cracked a grin, pink lights flashing across her face briefly.

"None." She said slyly. I rolled my eyes and looked around.

"Party's in full swing." I noted. Piper squealed and took off. Thalia excused herself to get a drink.

"And then there were four." Calypso joked. I smirked, and Reyna shook someone's hand, walking off with them.

"Make that three." Ani corrected.

"Soon to be one." I said as I saw Percy and Leo hanging out near the food.

"Don't leave me alone with people I don't know!" Ani called after us. I ignored her, knowing fully well she could take care of herself.

"Alex! And Arianna! Two gorgeous ladies in one place? That's not possible. And is that Ani over there? Oh no, hide me." Leo hid behind Calypso, then looked her up and down.

"You look… amazing, Caly! What happened?" He asked. She smacked him.

"Shut it, Valdez. You clean up nice, too, though." She said.

"Thanks for the genuine compliment." He said sarcastically. She stared at him.

"You say that as if yours was genuine." She said. He laughed.

"Alexandra, you look lovely, as always." Percy said. I smiled.

"Perseus, you look very nice tonight as well." I faked a british accent. He chuckled.

"May I offer you a drink?" He asked politely. I nodded pompously, and he sloppily poured me punch. We both chuckled.

"Why, thank you dear. How nice of you." I simpered.

"You are very welcome, dearest Alexandra. Perhaps you would like your present now?" He asked. I noddd eagerly. He pretended to think about it.

"Actually, I think I'll give it to you later." He said. I pouted.

"Jerk." I looked around the dark room. Couples were dancing, and with us being in New York, the light outside was nonexistent.

"Wow, this party's going strong." I said, taking a sip of punch. He nodded, looking around. He suddenly paled.

"Oh no. We have to hide." He said, grabbing my shoulders and steering me around the dancing couples. I glanced back, but saw nothing that would yell 'DANGER'.

"What?" I asked, perplexed. He continued to drag me to the other end of the room, and into an unoccupied dark corner.

"Percy, what the heck is going on-?" His hand cut me off.

"Stay here, and be quiet. I saw a monster." He said, pushing me deeper into the corner, placing his body in front of mined.

"Monster? What do you mean?" I asked. He turned and looked at me gravely.

"Kate Denvers." He said. I wrinkled my nose. Kate Denvers, Percy's stalker and clown-faced 'friend'.

"Not her. Ever since we started to hang out, I've been getting blackmail from her. She's leaving hate comments, bad reviews and rude tweets all over my board. Good thing you dragged me away before I saw her. I probably would've done an Ani and punched her." I snapped.

We waited for a few minutes, until we saw her leave the room.

Percy sighed, relief written all over his face.

"Thank god. It's stuffy over here." He said, moving out of the corner and taking a deep breath. Suddenly, Kate walked back in and saw him.

"Schist." He muttered as she wobbled over in her seven inch heels.

"Percy! Baby, it's been so long! I've missed my Bae." She said, throwing her arms around his neck, kicking a leg up. He winced and lightly patted her back. I made a face when she said the word 'Bae'.

"Hey… Kate. Yeah, it certainly has been a while." He said, though his face said 'I wish it was longer'.

"So, still single, I take it?" She asked, giggling. He was about to reluctantly mutter a 'yes', when I cut him off.

"Nope!" I said, wrapping an arm around his waist. She curled her lip at me.

"What are _you_ doing here, Alexandra?" She snapped.

"Hanging out with my-clearly taken-boyfriend. I think the better question is, why are you here, and what were your intentions with my boyfriend?" I snapped, as a photographer took a picture, and Thalia started to record it. She flashed me a grin and waved.

"He's not your boyfriend. He's mine, and how dare you even mention you two dating. That makes me sick that someone as amazing and talented as Percy would even look at you, let alone not knock your arm off his perfect body." She poked me with her manicured nails. I was about to stomp on her toes but Percy cut in.  
"Actually, we are dating. We just went on our first date the other day. And if you think I would even consider dating someone who completely bullies other people just because they're jealous of their talent, you're clearly mistaken. Alex is the best thing that has ever happened to me. And if you doubt me, here. Proof." He swooped down and captured his lips on mine. My eyes widened, but my quick response allowed me to act like this was normal. The crowd around us cheered. I was suddenly slapped. I stumbled back, but the offender was already being taken care of. Ani stood right in her face, glaring at her.

"Who are you?" Kate asked, horrified.

"Your worst nightmare." Ani said calmly. Kate laughed.

"Yeah, right. Look everyone! A little girl who no one knows, but thinks she's all that!" She said, causing some people to laugh. Hazel walked up.

"Ani, you don't have to do this." She said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She turned to her.

"I know, Kaela." She turned around.

"Kate Denvers. You're a bully. You push people around because you think you're better than them. People love you, and you think you're their queen. We'll, you're not. You were just a small town girl once, too. Remember how obsessed you were with Tom Cruise? You longed to meet him, talk to him, even see his face in real life. Then you became an actor. People started bowing down to you, and you were so grateful. You were so kind, and so sweet, until the fame got to you. You became a terrible person, a tyrant over your own people. But you didn't realize that you could change. You could be such a great person, and you have so much potential in you! People could be your friend, not your foe. All you have to do is stop being so rude. Be the person you really are, and give people what you want from them. Respect. Kindness. A friend who they could count on to be there for them. Why can't you be that person? You're completely capable of doing that, but you decide not too. And I, and I'm guessing that everyone else wants to know why, why do you treat everyone like garbage. Maybe the people that you're pining after would be able to tolerate your presence, if you were the goofy, sweet girl you were before fame. So, why? Why are you like this?" She asked, as people around us muttered.

"I-I…" She stuttered out. She clenched her jaw. "You set me up for that question! You gave me a question you know i wouldn't be able to answer, just so you could embarrass me!" She yelled out forcefully.

Ani sighed.

"No, actually. That question is simple. And maybe you'll be able to answer it, this time. Why are you so horrible to everyone?" She repeated. Kate gulped.

"Paparazzi, if you want to see the light of the day, leave now." Ani threatened, and they scattered at her glare. Kate stared at her.

"Why'd you do that? Don't you want to humiliate me? Because you're doing a really bad job." She said. Ani shrugged.

"Actually, I'm trying to be nice, and not let you be publically humiliated. Those were never my intentions. Are you gonna every answer my question?" Ani asked. Kate looked down.

"I guess, the fame...just got to me. I didn't ever expect to be famous, even if I wanted to so badly. I wasn't ready for the fame to overtake me like that. I expected to be able to go around my normal day, with people recognizing me. Fame is...intoxicating. Not many people realize that. One day you're in school, and the next you're twerking onstage and dumping your drink down a eager fan's shirt. I… wasn't ready for it." She trailed off. Ani stood there in a second, as tears dripped down Kate's face.

"I'm a horrible person. I'm sorry. I need… I need a moment." She walked away, kicking off her heels and scurrying into the hall. People started to disband from the circle. Ani stared into the hallway.

"Ani...that was…" Percy started.

"Amazing. How'd you know how to do that?" I asked astonished. She waved me off.

"That's what I did with Reyna. You think she just one day decided to apologize one day?" She said, glancing at me. Thalia's mouth fell open.

"You changed her mind?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Okay, time's up. I'm going in." She said, walking into the dark hall. Thalia started to go after her, but I stopped her.

"No, Ani's got this. Let's go do something." I said, dragging Percy to the dance floor.

"What are we doing here?" he asked, blushing slightly.

"We're dating, aren't we? Got to put on a show." I said, moving to the music. After a few minutes, Ani came out with a smiling Kate, and they journeyed over to the snack table. I pointed it out to Percy, and he laughed.

"That kid is crazy. How'd she do that?" He shook his head, and I shrugged.

"No idea. Maybe she'll be useful in the future. Better keep her around." I said. Percy looked at me, eyes sparkling.

"Maybe if she's staying, I'll stick around too." He said, as one of his songs started playing. He groaned and I cheered along with the crowd.

"Uptown Funk. Why Uptown Funk?" He groaned as I sang along. I grabbed his hands and started moving to the beat, as he stood there moaning.

"It hurts!" He yelled out. I laughed, as he spun me. We danced for hours, both of our songs playing every once and awhile. When we dragged ourselves off, it was around ten, and our feet were killing us.  
"My feet hate me." Percy moaned from his chair. I nodded in agreement as I watched Kate and Ani dancing on the floor. They were smiling so brightly, they might have best friends.  
"Look at them! They're like, the best gay couple ever!" Percy cried out. I glanced at him, disgusted, until I realized he was talking about Nico and Will over at the punch, who were chatting as if they were alone.

"That's adorable! I ship it so hard!" I cried out. He nodded, and we talked for the next hour.

"Oooookay, New York! This is the last hour of 2015! We're playing the top ten songs of the year!" The Dj cried out. Percy and I shared a glance.

"They haven't played 'the song', yet." Percy said nervously. I nodded, my hands shaking. I had no idea what songs were rated top ten of 2015. I was so nervous.

We dance for a bit. None of our songs were 10-5. Then 4 came on.

"I'm sorry if I, seem uninterested." My voice sang through the speakers as I heard the girls scream from around the room. The crowd cheered, and some people congratulated me. Percy frowned. I looked at him, sort of upset.

"What's wrong? Are you not happy for me?" I asked, my mouth twisting into a frown as well. He looked at me and shook his head.

"No, I'm happy. I just am upset this wasn't rated first! It completely deserves it!" He glared at the DJ and I laughed.

"I'm serious. This song deserves all the money and awards in the world. Why isn't it first!" He cupped his hands and yelled at the DJ. I pulled his hands down, smiling.

"Hey, they still haven't played our song. We'll see what happens." I said, tugging his shirt. He smiled at me. My song ended, and the next song came on.

"Wish we could turn back time." Percy's voice came out like a bullet from a gun. People screamed as they danced away. Percy groaned and sat with his head in his hands the entire time, while I sang along to the music. The song ended, and we eagerly awaited number two.

"Let's Marvin Gaye and get it on." Our voices sang through the speakers. Louder cheers this time, and I hugged Percy.

"We got #2!" I cried out, as we embraced. I heard my name being called.

"Hey! You two should kiss!" Ani's voice cut through awkwardly. She and Kate broke down into a fit of giggles, doubling over and clutching their stomachs.

"They're crazy." Percy said shakily. I turned to him, my hands around his neck.

"Yeah, crazy." I said, glancing at his lips as the song ended.

"Last song of the night, everyone! It's a slow song, so get on the floor. This is the top song of 2015!" The DJ yelled, winking at Sarah, who handed him some champagne. He took it gladly as the top song sang through the speakers. I pulled Percy to the floor as the song played through the speakers.

"For all the time that you rain on my parade." Percy's magical voice sang through the speakers, as he groaned into my shoulder. I laughed as we swayed on the floor. It wasn't really a slow song, but it would work. The song ended and the crowd cheered.

"Well, that was my shift! Enjoy your night, everybody!" He called as he jumped down and Sarah took the stage.

"Hi everyone! Thank you all for coming! The TV's on the walls next to you will turn on so you can watch the ball drop! Enjoy!" She called, walking down from the stage. The TV's turned on as Ryan Seacrest announced the countdown.

"10, 9, 8…" They yelled, as Percy turned me to him.

"We need to kiss." He whispered urgently. My eyes widened.

"What?"

"For the camera's, Alex! Just do it on one." He said. I nodded and gulped. Time seemed to slow. What would the team think? They would call me crazy, and probably make fun of me. Artemis had talked to me afterwards and explained that, to keep it real looking, don't tell the girls. Act like it's the real deal. It would be easier to fake it when in public. our eyes locked on each others.

"3, 2, 1… Happy New Year!" Everyone yelled as our lips met. My brain yelled at my heart, saying that it was fake, but my heart cheered, believing it was real. I had kissed guys before, but this was incredible. Our lips moved in sync, and everything around us disappeared. I heard cheering, and when we pulled away, I was shocked back into reality. We stared at each other.

"That was…" He started, gulping.

"Yeah… it was…" I said, my throat dry.

"Happy New Year." He told me. I smiled shyly.

"Happy New Year, Percy." I said.

"3, 2, 1… Happy New Year!" The people around us cheered as Jason pulled me into kiss. My body was on fire, his lips intoxicating. I couldn't get enough of him.

"I love you, P-Heather." He corrected himself on my lips. I pulled back suddenly.

"You do?" I asked, astonished. He nodded and kissed me again.

"I love you too." I muttered into his lips.

"Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year, Kaela." Frank told me. I blushed, and gathering all my courage, kissed his cheek. He stopped in his tracks, his face reddening.  
"Happy New Year, Frank." I said, blushing like crazy. He pulled me into a hug as the crowd cheered from the Ball Drop.

"Hey, Calypso, Ball's dropping." Leo whispered in my ear, taking my hand. I looked at his scrawny, Latino face. He was really handsome, even if it was hard to see.

"Yes, Leo. It is." I joked. He laughed and pulled me close.

"Can I get a New Year's Kiss?" He asked. Six seconds left.

"Hmmm, I don't know." I mused. He cocked an eyebrow.

"Time's-a-ticking." He said. I waited for one, then kissed him. He squeaked against my lips, and when I pulled away, he stood there in shock.

"That didn't happen." I said, pulling away. He looked at me and repeated what I said.

"Get out of here." I pointed. He started to walk away, but stopped and turned.

"Happy New Year, Arianna." He said honestly. I smiled slightly.

"Happy New Year, Leo." I said as he floated away.

"Hey, Nico. Happy New Year." Will told me. I looked up at him.

"You too, Will. Thanks for coming with me."

"You mean being your date? Yeah, no problem. It was a great first date. You have a lot to live up to, now." Will said. I blushed, which probably looked strange on my pale face.

"You want to go on more dates with me?" I asked, astonished. He nodded, blushing slightly.

"Yeah, I had a lot of fun. I like you a lot, Nico." He said, grabbing my hand. We stood in comfortable silence.

"Happy New Year, Ghost King." He told me.

******************************  
"Hey, Juniper. the Ball's dropping. C'mere." He gestured and I sat next to him. We started to count down, my sister's behind me.

"4, 3, 2, 1! Happy New Year!" They cheered, as Grover pulled me close. We kissed sweetly, and my sisters cheered us on.  
"Happy New Year, my beautiful Dryad." He told me, kissing my nose.

"Happy New Year, my handsome Goat Man." I said, kissing his nose.

"Happy New Year!" Ani, Kate, Kristen and I yelled.

"Happy New Year, Th-Kaitlin!" Ani cleared her throat. "Thanks for letting me tag along." She told me. I nodded.

"Happy New Year, and it's no problem! Tonight was fun!" I said, throwing an arm around her shoulder. She pushed me away jokingly as the countdown started. Ani wandered away as we waited to start counting down along with the crowd. The three of us, (Kristen is a friend I met earlier this night. Surprise surprise, Ani knows her. Online friends, or something.) waited patiently until the ball started to drop. We joined in with the crowd cheering.

"Happy New Year, girls!"

"Hey, Ani!" A male's voice called. I wandered away from our group and saw an old friend of mine, Ian. My mouth fell open and I scurried over. We have been best friends since we were five, and when he moved away, we kept in touch. Yes. I have a small crush. Shut up.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, hugging him. He smiled at me and let go.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it's because I, first of all, moved, and second of all, am now going to the same high school as you?" He said, offhandedly. I shrieked and hugged him again.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I squealed. He laughed.

"Surprise?" he said, laughing. I reached up and ruffled his brown hair. His blue eyes watched my hands.

"Wow, I've been wanting to do this ever since we met." I said, messing up his perfectly combed hair. He swatted them away. We talked until the countdown started. Around 5 seconds left, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see a grinning freak leaning down to kiss me. I leaned away and on the last second of the countdown, kneed him where it must have hurt. He doubled over as I stormed off.

(Ian made sure I was okay after shoving the guy away from me. I told him I was and he brought me home. My parents were very happy to see him. My parents approve, he's a keeper.)

We exchanged gifts afterwards. We each were assigned a person to gift, and the boys were assigned corresponding people.

Jason got Piper a beautiful ring, and she kissed him like there was no tomorrow. She got him a gold coin from rome, and he was basically fangirling.

Hazel got Frank a quiver with 'Assorted Arrows'. He was so happy. He got her a stuffed horse from New Orleans, and she teared up. She named it Arion.

Leo got Calypso something he called an 'Astrolabe'. He told her that if she couldn't find someone, that it would lead her straight to them. He hooked it up to everyone she is close to's phones.

Calypso got him an automaton dragon that he dubbed 'Festus'. If you wound it up, if would walk around for a few hours. Leo cradled it like it was his baby. He might have gotten a kiss for his present.

Nico got Thalia a chain bracelet that had the bands names engraved on each chain. She leaked a tear. Thalia got Nico a ring with a skull on it from Italy, made by the DiAngelo family. He hasn't looked away from it since.

Percy gave me those earrings I was fawning over in the store. I replaced my other ones immediately.

I got Percy two things. A pen with the word 'Riptide' engraved in Greek on the side. And a black pegasus stuffed animal, which he dubbed 'Blackjack', which I thought was cute.

Happy New Year, everyone. Have a safe night.

**Such a long, hard chapter to write. I have written this over the course of maybe two weeks. Thank you for the support that you all gave me! I'm sorry it's up so late, but here's the New Year's chapter! I hope you all had a safe, Happy New Year and Merry Christmas. Happy New Year and hey, it's 2016! Enjoy the year, guys. It doesn't last forever. 6,000 words! New record!**

**I hope you liked the Chapter, leave a review please! It means a lot to get feedback from you guys!**

**Inspirational quote of the day: If you can't say something nice, say something sarcastic and witty.**


	26. Chapter 26

So, apparently, they opened up a pool at the local Recreation center. I'm going to train. I've got a swim meet coming up for Goode High school.

I arrived and picked a chair to put my towel on. I shed my shirt, and jumped in the empty pool. Ah, sweet chlorine. I swam for a few hours, and when I got out, it was busier than before. I walked to my towel, and dried my hair. When I pulled it away from my face, a familiar face was sitting in my chair.

"Hey, Percy." Ian Buckley greeted. I grinned.

"Hey, man! What's up? And since when were you here?" I asked, taking his hand and pulling him out of my chair. As a few inches shorter, and a year younger, he was one of my younger friends. He had brown hair and blue eyes that girls would die to see in person. He wasn't buff, but like me, swimmer fit with washboard abs.

"I'm moving here, back with my family. I'm going to Goode High. I heard a rumor that you go there, too." He said. I nodded.

"Yeah, I do! Cool! I can show you around." I offered. He grinned shyly and shook his head.

"No, I've already got a tour from a friend." He said, pointing across the room to three girls in bathing suits. Two of them sunbathing from the skylight that was the whole ceiling, and one of them reading a large book. I smirked.

"Is that who I think it is?" I asked smugly. He looked at me.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused. I nodded my head in the direction he was pointing.

"Is that Ani?" I asked smugly. He narrowed his eyes.

"How do you know her?" He asked. I told him the hospital story. He chuckled.

"Yep, that's the same Ani." He said, glancing over. I suddenly had an idea.

"Do the other girls know you?" I asked. He looked at me.

"Yeah, not well, but yeah. Why?" He asked. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Okay, I'll explain. Look. We're both good looking, fit, young guys. We're both well known, and we can mess with Ani's friends. Then with Ani. Just, shirt off." I told him, and he shed his shirt.

"Okay, now what?" He asked.

"We're gonna walk by. They're gonna notice us, and probably freak out. Ani, well, I'll be surprised if she looks up…" I explained my plan.

"Dude, you suck at explaining stuff." He said. I nodded.

"I know. Just put these on." I gave him sunglasses and a baseball cap, which he put backwards on his head, tufts of hair sticking out the front. I took a pair of sunglasses and put them on.

"Let's just walk past and glance at them. They'll probably freak out." He said. I laughed and we proceeded with plan 'Mess with Ani'. We walked past, and one of the girls, her name is Heather according to Ian, rapidly tapped Ani's shoulder.

She sighed and said loudly, "Heather, I couldn't care less if there's a hot guy walking by."

The girls stared in horror at her as she continued reading her book. We broke down into fits of laughter, and had to walk away to compose ourselves. It took several minutes, and we watched as the girls glanced at us ever so often. We fixed ourselves up and walked back to them. This time, the other girl, Shaeleigh, continuously tapped Ani's shoulder. Ani's head fell into her book for a moment. She straightened herself.

"Shae, just let me read please." She pleaded. She didn't stop, and if anything started tapping harder the closer we got.

"I pity my mother." She muttered. "Shae. Stop tapping me or I'll snap your hand off." She said violently. She stopped and her hand fell limply as we stopped in front of them.

"Um, hi." Shae said faintly. Ani snorted.

"That was smooth. Please, excuse me if I don't look up, I'm at a good part." She said, waving her hand randomly towards us. I held in a laugh as her friends stared at her.

"You said that five minutes ago." Heather complained, glancing nervously at Ian and me. I looked at her, and she smiled sweetly.

"That was also a good part." She said, still not looking up.

"My name is Heather." She introduced, lifting her sunglasses off her eyes. Her baby blue eyes, light brown hair, and round face was attractive, but it was nothing on Annabeth. Her features were softer than her friends.

"I'm Shae." The other girl introduced. Her dark blue eyes, darker brown hair and sharper jaw were similar, yet different to Heather's. They looked similar to each other, but Ani looked different with her hazel eyes, light brown-fading-to-blonde hair and smooth, diamond-shaped face .

"This is… Well, you might want to leave her alone, but you can talk to us!" Shae said, noticing us watching Ani intentively. Heather and Shae looked at us hopefully while Ani snorted.

"You're begging for attention, Shae. Let them do what they want. They don't even have to be here." Ani said, eyes trained on the book, moving faster than before. She muttered a curse, and flipped the page violently. Heather and Shae looked at her like she was insane. Which she probably is.

"Or they could stay here." Heather suggested.

"Or not." Ani added.

I nudged Ian, and we took sides on either side of Ani, which meant sitting at the feet of her friends. I put my elbows on my knees and rested my head in my hands as I awkwardly stared at Ani, causing her to shift the book closer to her face.

"Actually, I think we will stay here." Ian said. She shifted, scooching away from us. We waited a minute, the girls exchanging looks.

"So, what are your names?" Heather asked, trying to sound casual. We ignored her and continued watching Ani.

"I'm not gonna look up, if that's what you're trying to do." She said, her voice muffled. I laughed breathily, and Heather melted at the sound.

"What'chu reading, babe?" I asked sexily. Ani ignored me.

"C'mon, sweetheart." Ian said, moving closer. I watched the book crunch under her grip.

"Leave me alone." She muttered. "Bother my friends, they're the ones who want the attention. Not me." She said.

"Move the book and let us see your pretty face." Ian said. Shae wilted as his arm touched hers.

"How about you annoy someone who cares?" She asked, rolling her shoulders, shaking of a shiver. I was enjoying too much.

"C'mon, baby. Let us see those eyes." I said, peering over the sunglasses. She sighed, and continued reading.

"She's stubborn. I like them stubborn." Ian whispered, putting his hand on her knee. I could feel her regret on wearing a bathing suit. I believe the one she was wearing was called a 'tankini', or something.

"Get your hand off me." She snarled.

"Feisty, too." I said huskily. Heather sighed aloud.

"That was awkward, Heather." Ani laughed.

"Look up, babe." Ian growled seductively. She hugged.

"Shae, is it wrong to punch a child?" She asked threateningly. Shae stared at her.

"Who says we're under 18? Maybe i'm twenty?" I suggested.

"Then you better run, because I am certainly underage, and will scream 'RAPE' so loud you won't know what happened until you're in a jail cell." She said, wrinkling her nose at her book.

"Nah, we're underage too. Don't worry, babe." Ian said, laughing.

"Thank god." Heather mumbled. Ani shot her a look.

"Oh, so you look at her, but not us?" I asked, resting my hand on her ankle. She shuddered this time, not bothering to hide it. My mouth formed a grin and Ian and I shared a glance.

"C'mon, girl. Let's see your face." Ian said, moving his hand up her thigh.

She slammed the book down, causing us to jump back. She whispered something in Shae's ear, and they switched seats. Shae whispered something to Heather, and they both smirked.

Ani slid close to Ian, who suddenly became very nervous. She suddenly flipped their positions, her sitting on his legs, her knees on either side of his hips. His back was pressed up against the chair. She put her arms around his neck and pulled his face close to his. He watched, hypnotized as she put her mouth to his ear and pressed a kiss under it. He subdued to her immediately, and she got off him, moving towards me.

This wasn't a part of the plan.

The girls behind me moved, and she pushed me up against the chair. She was about to sit down, but stopped. She looked at me for a second, and grabbed my hand, swinging me up. I stood right up against her, and she swung me around her, turning as well. Suddenly our positions were switched, and she approached me as I stumbled backwards, the girls laughing. I kept backing up until she stopped. I stopped. She looked at me and smiled, as I saw Ian waving frantically at me. I looked back at Ani, and she stood on her toes, got right in my face, and tapped my chest. I fell backwards into the pool.

When I surfaced, the girls were dying, and Ani was on one knee, trying to control her breathing. Ian stood up and tried to not look embarrassed in front of the laughing girls. He came over and helped me out. Ani straightened herself and tried not to smile.

"Well, I hope you learned your lesson, boys. Leave me alone." She said. She was about to turn around, but Ian grabbed her hand. She groaned as she spun her around.

"That's hot." He said. She glared at him.

"What did I _just say_?" She asked, annoyed.

"But, you don't even know our names!" I feigned shock. She narrowed her eyes.

"I don't want to know your names. Let me go." She yanked on her hand, but he didn't budge.

"Would you like to go first?" He asked me. I nodded and removed the soaked glasses and hat (that somehow stayed on during my little trip). Her eyes widened and she started choking.

"Gah, that's disgusting!" She gagged. Ian started dying laughing, while the other girls screamed.  
"Ani! Do you know who that is?" Shae shrieked, grabbing her shoulders.

"Ugh, yeah! I just flirted with him! Ah, gah!" She made a face.

"Is that what was disgusting?" I joked. She nodded.

"Yeah, that and your face." She said. Ian had to lean on my shoulder to continue standing from laughter.

"Can I have your autograph?" Heather asked faintl, holding out a pen. I nodded and signed the piece of paper.

"Perce, never, ever do that again. Please. I almost puked when you took of the glasses. Please. Never again." She said, gagging.

"Okay, then, _baby_." I joked, as she gagged herself. "Just don't tell Alex that happened. She'd kill me, then you, then me again." I promised. Heather and Shae stared at us.

"Did you just flirt with THE Percy Jackson?" Shae asked faintly.

Ani laughed, ignoring her.

"Alex would support me, I know that for sure. She'd probably high five me for pushing you in the pool." Heather and Shae stared at her.

"Since when did you know Percy Jackson?" Heather demanded, shoving her. Ani sighed.

"When you broke your leg. They were in the hospital with the Muses. I know both bands, Reyna ARA, Kate Denvers, and Kristen Green."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Shae gaped.

"Now something I want to share with everyone on the Morning Announcements, Shae. Do you know how many people I would have to punch in the face to make them leave me alone?" Ani explained. Shae shrugged, not taking her eyes off me.

"So who are you?" She asked Ian, who laughed.

"Wow, Ani. You didn't figure it out yet?" I asked. He leaned closer to her ear, and whispered something in her ear, placing a hand on the small of her back. She shuddered.

"Stop that, I don't even know you. What are you… Oh heck no." She said, snatching the hat and sunglasses. He smiled, and the girls screamed again, jumping up and down. He laughed at their antics.

Ani's mouth fell open. Then she pushed him in the pool.

She didn't expect to be pulled in too.

They both surfaced and the girls helped Ian out, ignoring their friend. He tried to help Ani out, who ignored him and got out herself.

"Ian I'm going to kill you!" She raged, as Heather held her back.

"Anger issues?" I asked, laughing. She glared at me.

"You're next, Jackson!" She growled. I backed up a few steps.

"Well, this has been great, but I'm gonna go." I said, Ian agreeing and following me as I dashed out the door.

(She found us eventually and smacked us both. Ian got an extra punch for pulling her in the water.)

* * *

"Well, I don't have any plans for the day, you busy?" Ian asked, massaging his jaw. I shook my head. Heather, Shae, and Ani stood near us, whispering. Ani looked really annoyed.

"Shut up!" She yelled to the sky, then had two hands covering her mouth. She glared at her friends. She glanced over at us and saw us watching her. She turned back to her friends.

"You're in deep." I told him. He blushed.

"So are you, Perce. Kissing Alex, fake dating, it's complete-" I cut him off.

"How'd you know it was fake?" I whispered. He laughed.

"You guys are terrible actors. I would know, I've directed movies before. I can give you some tips, to make it seem real." He suggested. I nodded.

"I might just take that offer. Are you gonna join Goode's swim team?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I don't know. Are you on it?" He asked. I nodded.

"Do they need good swimmers?" He asked. I let my shoulders droop in disappointment.

"You just had the chance to make a pun and you didn't take it, man!" I complained. Ani appeared at my shoulder.

"Did someone say pun?" She asked quickly.

"No!' Ian yelled.

"You did, didn't you?" She asked him slyly.

"No, he did." Ian pointed to me.

"He's the one who didn't take the chance!" I blamed.

She gasped dramatically. "How dare you! You always take the chance! You have just failed life! Your mother would be so disappointed." She shamed, swiping one finger over the other. I held in laughter as Ian covered his face with his hands.

"He said 'Do they need good swimmers?' while talking about our school." I explained. She burst into laughter.

"How'd you not take that chance? I'm more disappointed than your mother!" She said, backing up and running back to the girls.

"What was the pun, anyways?" He asked me, curiously.

"Do they need 'Goode' swimmers?" I said, chuckling. He facepalmed.

"That wasn't even decent! Why'd you make a huge production about it?" He asked through his fingers.

"Because you didn't notice. Now, off to...Somewhere!" I said, prancing out the door. He sighed and followed. Then we both shrieked at the freezing temperatures. I guess we forgot it was still winter. We ran back inside to a group of girls losing it.

"You… you two are so… so stupid." Ani gasped through laughs. Heather leaned on Shae for support, and Shae was coughing from laughing so hard.

"Okay, okay. We get it. We're little girls inside amazing bodies. Shut up." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well, maybe he's a little girl." Ian added. Ani snorted.

"No, it's both of you." She said. Heather giggled.

"So, which one of you are single?" Shae asked bluntly. Heather gasped and slapped her.

"Shae! That's not… How could…." She stuttered.

"Perce is taken." Ian pointed out. Heather looked away, disappointment in her eyes.

"But Ian isn't." Ani added, looking through her bag for something. She didn't look up.

"Well, he's single but not available." I said, glancing at the two oblivious children. Shae made the connection. Heather didn't.

"What do you me-?" She was cut off by Shae's hand over her mouth and her mouth to Heather's ear.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH! That's cute. Hey Ani, did you-." Another hand over her mouth. Shae dragged her away.

"Did I what?" Ani asked, looking up to see no one there. She looked at us.

"Where'd they go?" She asked. We pointed to the bathroom. She rolled her eyes.

"The chlorine probably messed their makeup up." She said, going back to her bag.

"Ani, what classes do we have together?" Ian asked, grabbing a paper out of his jacket pocket and handing it to her.

"We have English, Latin, Study Hall, Lunch and Science. Good job, you got Mr. Brunner, Mr. Riley and Mrs. Cunliffe." She congratulated, handing it back. He raised an eyebrow.

"Latin, Science and English. Mr. Heathen is funny, for a Study Hall teacher." She added.

"I have Mr. Heathen! He's awesome." I said.

"Cool. Does Mr. Riley live up to Ward's amazingness?" He asked her. She looked at him. I guess there was an inside story to all this.

"No, but he's really close, and amazingness isn't a word." She went back to searching. Heather and Shae walked out.

"You guys were gone for a while." Ian noticed.

"Yeah. So, are we going to the mall, or what?" Shae asked. Ani nodded and stood.

"See you dorks later." Ani said, following her friends out.

"Bye, kid." I called.

"Bye, Ani, girls." Ian said.

"Where now?" We looked at each other.

* * *

"Are you serious?" I grumbled. He nodded.

"You don't want it to be taken for fake, do you?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.

"It is fake." I told him.

"But you don't want people knowing. Now. I'm going to get you angry." He said.

"I doubt it." I scoffed.

"Your mother deserved to be beaten by Gabe." He said seriously. I choked.

"Excuse me?" I said, even though I knew it's fake. My brain didn't seem to care.

"And Annabeth is the ugliest, stupidest, worst person to exist. She should die in a hole." He said offhandedly. My temper spiked.

"Oh, I see how it is." I growled. He smirked and took a quick picture of my face.

"Percy, I didn't mean any of it. Your mother is a beautiful person and Gabe deserved what came to him. Annabeth is amazing, and she's smarter than Ani, who's the smartest person I know. Now, look. You see how you look in this picture?" He said, showing me the picture.

"Try to make that face." He coached. I copied it.

"Good. Now I'm gonna make you upset, okay?" He said. I got prepared.

"Your mother is missing. She was taken three days ago. Where were you?" He asked, disgusted.

I wasn't prepared.

He's a really good actor. I guess that comes with being a director. I became suddenly really guilty. He made it seem real.

"What about Hazel? She's been calling your phone nonstop! She's been kicked out of the band, and is now on the streets. How could you?" He said, backing away. I closed my eyes, keeping in tears. It felt _so_ real.

Click.

"Your mom is safe at home. Hazel's still in the band, right? Now, look at your face. Copy it." He ordered.

I did what he said for the next thirty minutes. He made me feel happy, in love, disgusted, ashamed, calm, annoyed, amused, hungry, sexual, exhausted, nervous, proud and dumb. Apparently all feelings I will experience in a relationship with a famous girl. The last two would only apply to Annabeth, apparently.

Yay me.

"God, that was mentally exhausting." I breathed. feeling so many emotions in such a short amount of time is exhausting. I suppose we do it everyday, but not to such extent.

"You did great! She's gonna be confused at why you're suddenly so 'in love' with her." He laughed.

"I hope so. This better make her more uncomfortable than Ani was this morning, or it will feel like a waste." I joked. He laughed, remembering the experience.

"That was funny, though. We should do it again." He said.

"She'll know it's us." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but it will still freak her out. I know from experience. She's really uncomfortable around guys she doesn't know. You should see her at school." He said, chuckling.

"Now that you mention it, I didn't even know we went to the same school until you mentioned it." I said, shrugging.

"You didn't notice her walking around?" He asked.

"Nope. Not once." I said, walking out of the studio. I put on my hat and fake glasses, and walked to my car. Ian waved bye and I drove off.

"I miss the way you undress, I miss your head on my chest." I sang to the lyrics of a new song, this one sung by Jason.I drove home and found a quiet room to sleep in. I was too tired to tell if it was mine or not.

* * *

"Perce! Get up! School!" Frank yelled up the stairs. I groaned and rolled over to stand up.

I then proceeded to fall on the floor.

"Ow!" I cried out, clutching my head. My door opened.

"Percy, I swear to God get out of be- How'd you get down there?" Jason asked.

"I fell. Help me up?" I asked hopefully.

"No." He shut the door and my head slammed into the ground again.

"Ugnhn." I groaned, standing up tiredly.

I grabbed random clothes and wandered around my room, looking for things I needed. I grabbed something and meandered to the bathroom, almost knocking Leo down.

"Who's ready for prison-I mean school?" He asked cheerfully. I shrugged and pushed him out of the way.

I did my bathroom routine and tripped down the stairs, slowly changing from a walk to a run to keep up with the upper half of my falling body. I reached the bottom and crumpled into a heap.

"Well, you're not having a great morning." Jason said, sipping his water.

"I'm not even having a good morning. Ow." I moaned, clutching my arm.

"I'm not bringing you to the hospital. Have fun driving yourself." Nico said from the fridge.

"Love you too, Nico." I grumbled, grabbing a cup and filling it with water. I drained it and grabbed my bookbag, checking to make sure everything is in there. I was satisfied with what I saw, so I ran out the door, following Jason and Nico.

"Bye Apollo!" I called. He yelled something incoherent and I shut the door. I jogged to the car, and jumping into the driver's seat, being the only person of age.

"Everyone here?" I asked. Leo flashed me a thumbs up, and I drove off.

* * *

"Percy Jackson? Where is your homework?" Mr. Heathen asked. I grabbed my book and searched. Nothing. I knew I had forgotten something.

"I have his, Mr. Heathen. Sorry, we were studying together for the test tomorrow, and I helped him with his homework. I must have accidentally taken it home with me." Annabeth called out, holding up a piece of paper. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Thank you, Annabeth. Mr. Jackson, just because you're a world famous pop star doesn't mean you can make someone else responsible for it." He scolded. I shrunk down in my seat, and turned to Annabeth. She winked and turned her attention back to the front of the room. I smiled inwardly. Sadly, I couldn't show her any affection when in school. She's not Alex, she's Annabeth.

* * *

"Gym. Yay." I groaned to Jason as we changed. He shot me a look.

"if we're gonna be normal High Schooler's, we have to suffer through Gym. Chill. It's nothing on the gym. We'll probably do Dodgeball or something stupid." He said, shedding his shirt. The door opened, and a boy stumbled in. He looked up, and smiled.

"Hey, Ian! What're you doing here?" I asked. He shook my hand.

"I've got Gym this period. I'm guessing you do too." he said.

"Yep. How's your first day as a freshman in Goode high?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"It's alright. I don't know. Hey Jason. Ready for hell?" He asked grabbing clothes out of his bag. I laughed.

"No. You?" Jason said honestly. He shook his head.

"Let's get this over with." I groaned, walking out the door and into the gym. The girls were already out, stretching. Some guys whistled, and one of the girls flipped them off.

"Aw, babe. C'mon. You'll come to me eventually, anyways." A freshman jock said, throwing his arm around the girl's waist.

"Get off, Bryce." She muttered. He laughed and pulled her into him. SHe struggled, but he didn't let go. I started forward, but Ian held me back.

"Wait." He said. I shrugged him off.

"No, really. Watch." He said, pointing. The door opened, and three girls walked out. Ani, Hazel and Thalia. Oh, this should get interesting.

"Get off of me." She said louder this time. Three girls giggled, and pointed. He winked at them. Ani looked around, and her eyes settled on the unhappy couple. She growled. She tapped Thalia and pointed. Her eyes narrowed, and she started forward. Ani held her back and whispered in her ear. She nodded reluctantly and let Ani start forward. Thalia explained… something, to Hazel.

"Hey, Bryce. Let her go." She commanded. He almost did, I watched his arms slip a bit. Then they tightened even more than before.  
"And why would I do that, babe? She's hot, and I want her. You don't need to interfere, unless you want to." He wined. She growled.

"Let her go, Bryce. I swear to God. Let her go." She said, stepping closer. She girl looked between the two, struggling harder. They had a stare down. He let go of her, but swooped in and grabbed Ani. Ian snarled and started to move forward. I stopped him, entranced at what was happening. She threw her arms around his neck and brought her knee up. He doubled over, and she kicked him down. She walked over to the girl, who was sitting on the ground from the force of being shoved away. Before Ani reached the girl, however, he grabbed her ankle, bringing her down. Her head smashed to the ground. Thalia stepped in here.

She stepped on his back, jumping up and down. She jumped onto his hand, causing him to cry out in pain. Ani rolled free, and he gave up, just laying on the ground as Thalia stepped over him. She helped Ani up, who immediately swayed on the spot, waving Thalia off. She stumbled over to the girl. She kneeled and helped her up, consoling her with soothing words. She wiped something off her face and nodded a bit. Ani straightened and glanced at Bryce, who was surrounded by three freshmen girls. They glared at Ani.

"How could you do that to him?" One of the shrieked. She made an indignant sound.

"Excuse me? He was sexually harassing Ellie! She asked him to let go, but he was being a freak and not listening to him! How can you even look at that jerk without gagging? He deserved that, and I hope he gets nothing beneficial or good in his life." She snapped, storming to the other side of the gym and finishing her stretches. Thalia and Hazel followed, striking up a conversation. Jason, Ian and I exchanged looks and ran over together. They didn't notice us until Ian didn't stop properly and accidentally slammed into Ani. She toppled to the ground and he landed next to her. She clutched her head again, which apparently hit the ground again. That couldn't be safe.

"Ow! You idiot!" She cried out. He coughed, sitting up straight and glared at Jason, Thalia and I who were cracking up.

"Well done, Ian. First day back and you're already knocking people down." Thalia said, laughing. He rolled his eyes and stood, helping up a dizzy Ani.

"How come I never noticed you in this class?" Jason asked her. She shrugged.

"Maybe because I'm not in it?" She suggested. Thalia snickered. "I have study hall today, but I needed to make up a gym period, so I came now." She explained. Ian looked disappointed.

"Why do you look so upset, Ian? Did you want to see more of Ani in short-shorts?" Hazel said slyly. They both blushed.

"Shut up." They said.

We continued stretching.

"Valentine's day is coming up." Hazel said thoughtfully.

"If Frank doesn't get you anything, I may have to slap him." Ani muttered, causing Hazel to blush.

"I hope so too." She mumbled quietly.

"That's cute. But does anyone know what we're doing today? If it's dodgeball I'm leaving." Ani said.

"Why is it that almost everyone except preppy guys universally hate Dodgeball? And a few exception of nice people." Jason asked.

"Asks the preppy guy." Ian added. I snorted.

"I am not preppy. Bryce over there is preppy. I, am not." Jason defended. Ani rolled her eyes.

"Not important. But seriously, what are we doing today?" She asked.

The girl's teacher walked in, a young, fit, blonde woman in her twenties.

"Girls, c'mere. Battle of the sexes today!" She yelled out. The girls cheered and raced over. Ani sent me a salute and jogged over. Thalia punched Jason and Hazel waved.

"Guys, over here." Coach Hedge called. We made our way over, less enthusiastic.

"Listen up Cupcakes! This is a battle of the Sexes! Let's show those girls that the men are the dominant gender! We'll be doing sword fighting first, so let's get going! Head over to the mats and pick up a wooden sword!" He pointed, and the group parted so we could see where he was pointing.

The sword box was crowded with girls, and the mats were being laid out by two girls. The last of the girls left, and we crowded the rest. I grabbed what I could, and headed back to Coach.

"Jackson, go to Grace. Don't lose." He threatened. I saluted him and jogged over to my cousin. I 'faintly' heard him yell for "Grace, go with that freshman and Buckley, welcome back, go with Shenare." Jason walked over to a freshman girl, and Ian to some sophomore.

"Ani, go with Bryce over there." Ms. Roth said. Ani frowned, but didn't argue. Ian passed me, muttering "Teacher's pet." while staring at her. I snorted.

I readied my sword, and when the whistle blowed, started going in for the 'kill'. Thalia yelled a battle cry and charged. We used to do this all the time when we were kids, playing with foam swords. We became really good.

We blocked, parried, and struck until we could barely breath. Panting, we called it a draw and looked around. Jason was taking it easy on his opponent, who wouldn't stop flirting with him. Ian had no idea what he was doing, trying new things and doing okay. The sophomore was flirting with the youngest director of Hollywood, and it was awkward because of the age difference. Hazel was holding her own against a skinny, tall freshman boy. Ani was growling, continuously shoving Bryce off of her.

"C'mon baby. Rematch." He jeered.

"You don't want that." She snarled, lunging. He jumped out of the way, and she brought the sword down. He just barely had time to block before another attack was on its way. She attacked quickly and forcefully, making him clearly nervous.

"Hey, slow down, I can't- OW!" He yelled, falling to the ground from her sticking her sword in his gut furiously.

"I think it's funny that you believe that I would take it easy on _you_. You disgust me." She snarled, turning around and stalking over to Ms. Roth, partnering her up with someone she was okay with, because she loosened up and even smiled a bit. I watched Ian glance over and get swiped at. His eyes widened and he attacked again, not giving any mercy. The sword clattered out of his opponents hands. She looked up, surprised at his sudden attack.

"Sorry." He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. She huffed and walked over to her teacher, telling her that Ian won. He gave me a thumbs up and walked over to Coach Hedge.

"Good job, Cupcake! Head over to Levesque. She's your next opponent." He said, pointing to Hazel. She waved and he made his way over. Thalia went over, saying we had a tie. The teachers exchanged a glance.

"Thalia, with Johnny. Percy, go with Nya." He pointed to a girl in my grade, and I sauntered over. I beat her easily. She was so infatuated that she couldn't focus. I felt bad, but I did it quickly to move on. One point for team MAN.

Ani beat her opponent too, and was now fighting a senior. He was huge, but so was Bryce, if you know what I mean. (She won easily).

I was put with a giggling freshman, one of the ones who stuck up for Bryce. She was all over with me, and I had to explain that I wasn't available. She pouted, so I pushed on, defeating her too.

Soon, we were in the Finals. Who was left, you ask?  
Me

Thalia

Jason

Ani

Ian

A senior named Sandra.

Thalia fought Jason first, beating him even though it was close.

Then it was Sandra and I. She was big, but I creamed her.

Ani and Ian.

Oh, those two. They're so oblivious, they don't know they like one another. I don't think Ani know's she even _likes_ Ian.

Coach blew the whistle, and Ani attacked, thrusting her sword towards his stomach. He jumped out of the way, and she swiped. They continued back and forth, blocking and parrying and swiping and stabbing until Ian knocked her sword out of her hands. Her eyes widened and she fell to her knees, clutching her chest, choking.

"No… My pride… My dignity… I can feel myself…Going… NO!" She yelled, falling to the mat. The class laughed at her antics. She actually accepted his hand in helping her up this time. She whispered something in his ear, and he laughed.

Next was Thalia and Ian. She creamed him. So it was Thalia and I again.

I fought hard, but in the end...I was victorious. C'mon guys, did you really doubt me? If they were keeping records, I'd be the best in like… 300 years. Don't doubt Percy Jackson. Don't.

* * *

"Nice, Percy. You really taught all those excited girls that you will not give them mercy just because they are fans. Well done." Ian said afterwards. I snorted.

"Thanks, man. Really helpful right now." I said, pulling my shirt on.

"Should I dare him to walk around school without his shirt?" I muttered quietly to Jason. He laughed silently.

"Do it." He said, stifling laughter.

"Ian, I have a dare. Do you accept it?" I announced dramatically.

'Um… Can you tell me what it is first?" He asked nervously. I shook my head, Jason covering his mouth behind me.

"Fine. Whatever, as long it won't get me expelled or suspended...or killed. It's my first day back, remember?" He noted. I shrugged.

"If you do, I'll take full responsibility. Keep your shirt off until you get yelled at or mauled by a fangirl." I said smugly. He paled.

"What? No! Do you want me to die?" He asked dramatically.

"Yes." Jason answered.

"What he said." I joked. He shook his head.

"No. No. No." He said, backing up. I shrugged.

"You already said yes. So, you have to. Sorry." I said, rolling my shoulders. He facepalmed.

"I hate you. So much." He shuddered.

"Yeah yeah. Keep that shirt in your bag, so you have easy access when Mr. Principal screams at you." I said, clapping his bare back.

"I'm in honors classes, dude. This could kick me out." He whined.

"Nah, they won't. What do you have next?" I asked. He glanced down at his schedule.

"Lunch." He groaned.

"What's wrong?" I asked slyly.

"That cafeteria is full of fangirls. I can't go in there." He said, shaking his head quickly.

"Oh, Ani's in that class." Jason noted. Our heads snapped towards him.

"What?" I asked.

"Ani has fifth period lunch." Jason said, slower. I grinned widely and turned to Ian, who paled visibly.

"Wait, no. No. This is good. Remember the pool?" He said, gaining color back. I suddenly realized that this was just what we needed to get Ian and Ani together.

"Yeah, I do. Let's go, The bell will ring any second." I said, opening the door for them. They left, and we walked into the hall. I heard two screams, and started laughing. We headed to the cafeteria. We sat down and started waiting. People came up, taking pictures and girls screaming at Ian's attractive figure.

"Hey, Ian. Remember me?" A girl said, coming up and sitting on the table. Jason leaned over to me.

"That's disgusting. We eat there. We don't need _that_ on our table." He said, face wrinkled up. I bust out laughing. She looked at me, and batted her eyelashes.

"Hey, Percy. I'm Tierra. You busy tonight?" She asked, trying to be seductive. She failed miserably. I bet Annabeth would've felt the idiocy radiating off of her.

"Yeah, I'm hanging with my girlfriend. Ian's not though." I said.

"Yes I am. I'm going to Ani's for a project." He made up. She pouted.

"Well, when you're free, let me know." She said, dragging a finger down his arm. He shrugged it off, and she clomped off. Eventually, the crowd dissipated, and Annabeth, Piper and Juniper walked in. They all stopped when the saw Ian, eyes widening.

"What the heck is going on here?" Annabeth asked, sitting down. I explained the dare, and when Ian wasn't looking, told her about plan Ian and Ani. She snorted and nodded.

"I'll help. Did you pick out a empty room yet?" She asked. I shook my head.

"Good, I have one." She said, twirling her necklace. I sighed in relief. She's awesome. We talked for the next few minutes.

"Ian? What are you doing?" A girl's voice said, causing all of us to look up or turn around.

"Don't you mean, water you doing?" The lanky boy next to Ani asked. Ian laughed out loud. She glared at the boy, struggling to take her eyes off Ian's torso. There was some kind of story behind that phrase.

"Do you want to lose your teeth?" She threatened. He laughed and walked off, waving to Ian, who waved back.

"Hey, Ani. How's it going?" Ian asked casually.

"What is happening here?" She asked the table, pointing to Ian. The table bust out laughing. She stood there, confused.

"What? What am I missing?" She asked anyone. No one answered, they were all too busy laughing. She shrugged and yawned sleepily.

"Whatever. I don't know about any of you, but I'm starving. I'm going to get food." She said, walking away. Ian watched her, and followed, throwing an arm around her shoulders. She glared at him.

"Put a shirt on." She told him. He just laughed.

We watched them go. As soon as they turned the corner, we all huddled together.

"Where's the room?" I asked Annabeth.

"Room 618. Floor two. Next to Herthum and Genele. No one teaches there, and it's empty today. Can we lock it from the outside?" She asked me. I nodded.

"I've got a way." I said. She rolled her eyes playfully.

"Of course you do. How do we get them there? Ani won't go easily, or willingly. Ian will run. And from what I've heard, he runs fast. And I mean _fast_." Annabeth warned.

"Maybe we can somehow lead them in." Juniper suggested.

"How?" Nico asked. I jumped. I forgot he was here.

"We could lead Ani in with extra credit." Piper joked.

"Maybe make her go in. Like put something of her's in there. Like her bag or something." Jason said. Annabeth nodded.

"That could work. What about Buckley?" She asked.

"We could force him in there. He doesn't fight girls, he's pretty gentlemanly. I heard that he doesn't tie them up and sit them in their own front yards on Halloween." Annabeth sent me a look. I turned up my palms.

"Are we still talking about that?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

"No. We could tell him a teacher needs to meet him in there." Juniper said.

"Sure. That could work. What teachers does he have?"  
"Mr. Riley for science." I remembered.

"Great. Mr. Riley needs to see you in room 618. Ani, your book-bag is in room 618. We can do this." Jason recited.

"Yeah. We've got this." Piper said confidently, grabbing Ani's bag and walking out of the room.

"You've got what?" Ani asked, sitting down at the table, frowning slightly. Her eyes were drooping, indicating she was tired.. A few whistles and screams were heard as Ian winked at them, sitting next to Ani who glared at him again.  
"Where. Is. Your. Shirt?" She growled. He laughed.

"Why, can't take me like this?" He asked. She slammed her head into her arms that were resting on the table. He rubbed her back soothingly, trying to hide a smile.

"I can hear you laughing." She mumbled faintly.

"Aw, Ani. Do you find me too attractive?' He asked, enveloping her in a hug, her back pressed against his bare chest.

"I will murder you." She said sleepily. He laughed and hugged her tighter. "Let go of me, I swear to god Buckley." She threatened.

"No! Never!" He yelled.

"Why not?" She whined.

"Reasons." He said. A platinum blonde freshman boy with wide blue eyes walked over.

"Whoa, what's happening at this table?" He asked. She looked up, eyes half open.

"Ken, do you want to have kids?" She asked, yawning.

"Um, I'm not sure. Why?" Ken asked.

"Keep talking and you won't be able to." She said, thumping her head back down.

"That was good." He laughed. "Ian, where's your shirt?" Ken asked him.

"Its- Wait, I can't tell you, because she'll force it on me. But, I can tell you it's not on me." He said. She looked at him.

"Why aren't you wearing one anyways?" She asked.

"Didn't feel like it." He shrugged.

"Whatever." She shrugged.

"Why are you so tired?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah, you were fine last period…" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know Where's my bag?" She asked as Jason called Ian over to him.

"Maybe somewhere not here…" I said. She stared at me.

"How did you pass elementary school?" She asked. Annabeth laughed.

"It may or may not be in room 618." I coughed.

"Ugh, that means movement. Alright, I'll be the fool. I'll play your stupid game." She said, stretching and standing up. She slumped out of the room. Ian argued with Jason.

"What's up guys?" I asked casually.

"What? Oh, Ian doesn't believe me. Mr. Riley came in here right?" Jason urged us on. I glanced at Ian's skeptical face.

"Why don't you believe him?" I asked. He wrinkled his nose.

"I haven't even had Mr. Riley yet! What could I possibly done to have him ask about me?" He asked, frowning.

"Wait, Mr Riley? It wasn't Mr. Riley." Annabeth cut in. I turned to look at her.

"What? Yes it was." I said, eyes widening fearfully. She rolled her eyes.

"You guys are idiots. It was Mrs. Cunliffe. You have her first period, right? The Aid said it was something to do with your grade from last year. Normally they'd have the guidance counselor do it, but it had to do with your english grade. Seriously, how did you two mess up a man for a woman?" She improvised. I shrugged.

"Well, that makes more sense. Are you certain it's room 618?" He asked. She nodded.

"She teaches study hall in there this period." Annabeth lied. He sighed and grabbed his bag, stomping out the room. One girl slapped his butt, and he stiffened, laughter ringing in the lunchroom. He walked quicker.

"Wow, girls will do anything for da boo-." A hand cut me off.

"Don't say a word. We need to go. Ani will know what happened immediately when Ian gets there." Annabeth said, grabbing her back and dashing out of the room, dragging us with her.

"Ow, that hurts." I moaned. She rolled her eyes.

"Shut up and woman up." She snapped.

"Why not man up?"

"Because men are weak." She said. I stopped, pulling her with me.

"What?" I asked, staring at her.

"Men are weak compared to women. We don't have time for this." She complained. I didn't let go.

"Men are weak, huh?" I asked threateningly. Jason groaned.

"Not the time. We need to go." He said, dragging me and Annabeth.

"We'll talk about it later." She said, walking faster.

We caught sight of Ian, and stumbled back behind a wall. We peered out behind it like in the movies. Maybe because of luck, or maybe because he was deafer than Ani, he didn't hear us. We crept behind him as we followed him around the school.

"Hello? Mrs. Cunliffe?" He called as he entered the classroom. Piper darted forward, slamming the door shut. I heard a groan from inside the room.

"I should've seen this coming. Percy's so obvious about everything. I could have predicted this if I wasn't so tired." I heard Ani yawn.

"What the heck?" Ian asked.

"Those idiots tricked us. I'm just...Ahh. God, what happened to me?" She asked mid-yawn. Ian started pacing.

"Guys, very funny. Let us out." He called. We stayed silent.

"We're not… Ah.. Stupid. We know you're there. I can see you, Piper." Ani called. PIper froze. She wasn't anywhere near the door. We shared a look.

"Percy, I can see you too." She said.

"Where?" Ian asked.

"You can't see them?" She yawned.

"Uh...No?" He said awkwardly. I heard another yawn, and a thump.

"Ani!" Ian yelled. Annabeth stiffened, Piper reached for the door. Nico held her back.

"No. They're faking it." Jason mouthed.

"What if they aren't? Ani was acting really weird. What happened last period?" Annabeth asked.

"A little scuffle. Ani did fall. Twice." Jason whispered.

"Did she hurt herself?" She asked.

"I didn't notice anything." Jason confessed.

"Me neither." I said.

"She hit her head. Both times she fell." Nico said.

"Sh-." She swore.

"Hard?"

"I heard the thump the first time. I saw it hit the second time. Both really hard. Worse case senario, brain damage." He theorized. She threw the door open. The room was empty.

"Wha-?" Piper asked.

"The window!" I noticed, wind flying through the open hole. We dashed to it, sticking our heads out. We were two stories up. I saw nothing.

"Where'd they go?" Annabeth asked.

"Lockdown no response, silent. This is not a drill." The loudspeaker announced. "I repeat, not a drill. Please remain inside a supervised classroom." The speaker went silent.

"Did he go all ninja and climb down, bringing her too?" Nico asked.

"I guess." Annabeth said, shutting the door. PIper closed the window, Jason pulling her into the corner like we were advised in our drills. Nico closed the blinds, and flicked the lights off. We sat out of view from the window in the door.

It was silent. Scarily silent. No movement. No shuffling papers out of the way. No step in the hallway. No shifting students in their seats. No squeaking pencils or erasers. Five ADHD kids in a classroom shouldn't be so still, but it happened. No one moved. No one made a sound. I could barely blink or swallow. My chest barely moved, small breaths entering my lungs. My eyes were fixed on the floor.

"The lockdown is because of Ani." Nico said silently. I'm surprised my ears picked that up.

"Yeah." Annabeth answered, just as quietly.

"How did none of us notice?" Piper cried out.

"We're superstars, not doctors. We're barely around normal people, so it's not necessarily our fault." Jason reasoned. She groaned.

"I know. I just feel so helpless." She said, burying her head in her hands. Jason kissed her temple.

"She'll be okay. I can hear sirens. She's going to the hospital. They'll fix her up." Nico said.

"I still don't like it." She muttered.

"Me neither." Annabeth added.

We sat the rest of the lock down in silence.


End file.
